Deception
by GracedAngel1864
Summary: The senshi are attacked and captured for unclear reasons and Ami must go to the dimension her friends were taken to and track them down through a job at the Preventers headquarters on Earth, dealing with the pilots and her suspicious neighbor. Heero/Ami
1. Part 1

Summary: The senshi are attacked and captured for unclear reasons, all except for one by chance. Ami must go to the dimension her friends were taken to and track them down through a job at the Preventers headquarters on Earth, never knowing the enemies true intent. Here, she must deal with the inquisitive and suspicious Pilots, particularly the one who happens to be her neighbour. Ami/Heero pairing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hey, I hope you all enjoy this new fic, I got the idea and just had to write it.

* * *

Part 1

The general manager showed her, the new secretary, her desk. She was explaining to her how she would be filing the documentation on every issue that the Preventers were looking into or addressing.

The new girl seemed sharp, very knowledgeable with computers and quick to pick up on what she was saying. This only made the manager more confident as she headed back to her office, glancing back down at the paperwork she had been given to remember the girl's name.

Ami Mizuno.

Ami sat at her desk, which was among about four others in the room, and smiled in greeting at the other secretaries who all introduced themselves. She hoped that she was putting on a convincing act, but really couldn't be sure from how empty she felt.

The blonde to her right, Stacey, rattled on about the floor they worked on. "This is the most important floor after all. We take care of filing every single issue that the Preventers even just look at, which is why confidentiality is so important. Best of all, we have an added perk on this floor!"

Ami looked up at her, the girl having caught her interest. "A perk?"

Another secretary giggled, Laura, and approached. "She's right. The best and most trusted Preventers work on this floor. Their offices are just down the hall. They take coffee breaks, right there, and even eat lunch there." Laura pointed at the coffee machine at the corner and the lunch tables next to it. Ami was severely unimpressed, frowning at the mentioned objects and turning to look back at the girls.

"I don't mean to be blunt....but why do you care where anyone drinks coffee or eats lunch?"

The other two secretaries who had yet to speak approached, smiling secretively.

"The Gundam Pilots work on this floor!" One of them, Layanna, gushed. Ami nodded, unimpressed. She had read about the retired pilots, now Preventers, from the information she had been given when coming to this dimension. It wasn't that the pilots and everything they had done for the earth and colonies were unimpressive. On the contrary, the pilots deserved a lot of credit and respect. Ami just didn't get why worshipping where the men drank coffee or at lunch mattered.

"So?"

"So they're all totally hot!" The final one said as if it were obvious. Ami nodded blankly, speaking and smiling in hopes of satiating the girls and getting down to the reason she was here.

"Well girls, we shall have to see."

The girls all giggled in response, Ami smirking slightly as everyone sat down at their desks and got to work. Ami's mind immediately flew to her friends, feeling a headache coming on.

"_My turn," Usagi screamed, fighting over the microphone with Minako. _

"_Mits off! You practically just sang, anyways this is so my song!" Minako said loudly, shoving Usagi away and into the arms of Mamoru as she cleared her throat._

"_Abc! Easy as 123! Easy as Do Re Me!"_

_Ami, Rei, Usagi, and Mamoru were gathered at Minako and Makoto's apartment. Minako had purchased a karaoke game, and the group had been playing for the last two hours. _

_Usagi groaned, whispering to Mamoru how upset she was. Mamoru ignored her antics, reminding her that she had sang a lot more than any of the other girls as he rubbed her shoulders soothingly. _

_Makoto rolled her eyes, exchanging a look with Rei as she set a fresh batch of cookies on the table. "Well, dig in ladies. Oh, and Mamoru."_

"_Thanks Mako," Ami said, grabbing a cookie before Usagi inhaled them. Rei got the idea, also coming and grabbing a couple as she eyed Minako's score. _

"_Mina, I thought you were a good singer, you're not doing so hot."_

"_Well excuse me for having a voice so beautiful that it is too high in pitch for the machine to read and score," Minako said, flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically at Rei's comment and then winking at Ami. _

_A crashing sound that was much louder than the music from the game tore through the house, and everyone froze. _

"_What was tha-mmmfff," Makoto's voice was muffled as a large hand covered her mouth, another grabbing her around the waist and pinning her arms to her side. A soft but commanding voice floated into the room._

"_Listen Senshi, no one gets hurt as long as you cooperate."_

"_Who are you?" Rei shouted._

"_No questions please," a voice said again, and all hell broke lose as several more youma entered the apartment and charged before anyone could transform. It all happened so fast._

_Ami didn't know how long it took, but she and her friends were soon being gagged and dragged out of the apartment, the battle ending before it began. In the corner and restrained, she watched with wide eyes as one by one her friends were taken out of the apartment. One of the remaining youma began to bark a command._

"_Get the last one, hurry before-"_

"_Pluto deadly scream!" The youma pinning her down ran but was obliterated. _

_The remaining youma disappeared quickly, leaving Ami lying on the floor in the trashed but empty apartment, save for the woman who approached her. Ami tried to get to her feet, looking up at Sailor Pluto with disbelief. Her voice was shaky as she spoke. _

"_Where are they?"_

_Sailor Pluto stared down at her, looking incredibly troubled, as she crouched next to her and spoke. _

"_They're gone. The enemy, whoever the enemy is, has taken them to another dimension. I don't know why and I only wish I had been here a few moments before to save everyone else."_

"_What about the outers?"_

_Pluto kept her voice even, but Ami knew she was worried. _

"_The other three were taken only a few minutes before."_

"_What do we do Setsuna? Go get them from the other dimension? We have to hurry!"_

_Sailor Pluto shook her head. "I- I don't know where they are over there. Come with me to the gates of time, I have an idea. There's just one issue- I know you're not well...."_

"_I'm fine, I'll do anything," Ami insisted, Pluto nodding. _

Even with how reasonable Pluto's idea was, this one had a few problems. Pluto, or Setsuna, had work to do in the gates of time. She really couldn't leave for more than a few hours at a time, and only in dire circumstances.

Plus, they had no idea where their friends had been taken or for what purpose. Setsuna only knew that the enemy had ties with some organization committing crimes in this dimension. So the only way for them to find the organization that the enemy was hiding within was for Ami to search through every organization the Preventers had investigated in the last year. She only had access to these documents through a job there, so Setsuna had managed to rig it so she got her a job before returning to the gates of time and urging Ami to be quick. The whole ordeal had been a whirlwind and Ami was still trying to collect herself and do the task that was asked of her.

Setsuna had been positive that the enemy hadn't killed the Senshi, but why had they captured everyone in the first place? How had they even known their identities? Ami placed her head in her hands, lightly rubbing her temples. She needed her friends back. She felt lost without them, and now she was in this strange place all alone trying to simply find them. Her mini-computer was useless here unless she was within one hundred feet of the Senshi and communicators didn't work. It was all around bad news.

To make things worse, Ami had been constantly sick for the last little while. It was not technically a sickness, but the day to freeze the Earth in her dimension would be in a year as she was twenty three right now, and for that to happen Ami would have to do it all herself. So her powers were steadily and slowly increasing, not in battle or in any actually effective way for her to save her friends now, but rather building within her. This process however, which would give her the strength to freeze the entire Earth and all its inhabitants for centuries, was painful for her as her body would have to handle all of this power somehow, which was why it had to happen slowly. Every time her power increased only slightly within her, she would get horribly sick, go through excruciating pain, or pass out. Her friends had all been helping her work through it before they were captured, always watching over her, but now she was on her own and her sicknesses were daily and only increasing in intensity every day that came closer to the next year. Her poor friends....she blinked back tears at the thought. She hoped that the enemy wasn't hurting them at all. But why did they want them to begin with?

It was all just too much. She pushed herself to get down to work and start filing, knowing she had no time to waste. Immersing herself in the paperwork, she quickly did her job while carefully inspecting every document. It was their job to look the documents over, so no one noticed anything out of the ordinary as Ami searched the papers for any signs of their enemy in the reports, anything unexplainable or involving energy drainings or unexplained deaths.

Two out of the next three hours that Ami worked diligently, the sound of the other secretaries chit chatting filled the room.

Ami meanwhile had seen nothing in the documents so far, although she and Setsuna had predicted it might take weeks. She didn't see the Gundam Pilots that day, the girls whispering disappointedly that they might be on a mission.

* * *

She took a cab to the apartment Setsuna had paid first and last months rent on, accompanied with the joke that she would hopefully not need to exceed a month and would have found her friends.

Already not feeling well from what she was positive was another slight power increase, she shakily searched her bag for her keys as got into the elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor. A man ushered for her to hold the elevator and she did so, him nodding at her as he entered.

Heero reached for the fifth floor button and saw that whoever was in the elevator had already pushed it. A new neighbour? He glanced down at the petite woman, with striking blue hair and eyes the same color. She was pretty, he decided, although he hadn't gotten a decent look at her since she was so preoccupied.

She was not paying attention to him as her hands fumbled in her bag for her keys. Finally finding the key, she pulled it out and despite how awful she was feeling, couldn't stop the victorious smile from taking over her face. Heero couldn't help but smirk from next to her, and she blushed lightly but otherwise kept quiet. This however gave him a better look at her lovely face, and he was positive that she was new as he had never seen her before. His smirk widened as he thought about how Duo would flip that he had even made the observation as he hadn't paid much attention to women since he and Relena had broken up. Heero saw the dial on the elevator hit five, his attention moving to the woman's trembling hand that gripped the key. Was she nervous or something? Why was she shaking?

Feeling the pain from the poison double almost instantly, she was more than happy once the elevator reached the fifth floor and the doors opened. She exited the elevator and walked down the hall until she located her door, noticing that the guy she had ridden with had his apartment right next door but in too much pain to care.

The pain continued to eat at her as her hand, now shaking violently, struggled with the simple task of getting the key in the door so she could get inside. She was sure she was about to have an attack from the power increase but tried to focus all of her attention on the key, knowing she had limited time before something happened to her and she wound up unconscious outside her apartment door.

Heero didn't let himself into his apartment right away, watching with a frown as the girl's hands shook violently, her body beginning to shake as well. She was silent, the only sound she was making coming from her erratic breathing as that seemed to be strained.

"Are you alright?" He asked, approaching her. Her hand, which had finally gotten the key into the door, slipped from it as she suddenly collapsed to the floor. Heero frowned deeper as he crouched next to her, turning her over and feeling for her pulse at her neck. Her breathing had steadied and she was no longer shaking, completely limp. Her pulse seemed a bit fast but was steadily slowing to normal as well. She seemed perfectly fine, her face giving the impression that she was simply sleeping had he not seen her pass out. He slapped her face very lightly but she didn't move.

He glanced up at her key, still sitting in the lock, and debated. It would be too easy to set her down inside her apartment, and there was nothing wrong with her to indicate that she needed a hospital. It was possible that she just hadn't eaten enough or had low iron or something. Then again, if he left her in her apartment alone and unsupervised and she went into cardiac arrest or ended up being epileptic and had a seizure or something, that would be entirely his fault. No, the only logical thing to do was to set her down on the couch in his apartment just to make sure nothing happened to her while she was alone, and she would surely awaken soon and be able to head into her apartment herself.

Nodding to himself that it was the right decision, he moved to pick her small form off of the ground but stopped when she shifted, her bright blue eyes opening and meeting his.

"Are you okay?" He asked immediately. Ami quickly took in her surroundings, well aware that she had just passed out in the hall and that her neighbour from the elevator was trying to help her. How embarrassing. She blushed lightly, nodding and moving to sit up. He reached a hand to help her, standing with her and nodding at her.

"What happened?" He asked. His voice was almost monotonous, yet she sensed that he usually spoke that way. Avoiding his piercing yet alluring gaze, Ami spoke.

"I'm sorry. I have low iron," she lied, finally meeting his gaze now that she had an excuse.

He nodded. "Hn. I thought as much."

He sure wasn't a man of many words. Still, he had tried to help.

"Thank you for checking on me though. I'm Ami Mizuno," she reached out to shake his hand, and he grasped it firmly.

"Heero Yuy," he said simply, turning and heading back towards his apartment.

Ami quickly let herself into the apartment she had never been in, flicking on the lights and locking her door. Her neighbour, Heero, unnerved her. Trying to brush their short meeting, if that was the proper term, from her mind, she focused on finding everything in her apartment and getting dinner, aware that she hadn't eaten since before her battle with the Senshi.

Heero meanwhile entered his apartment and headed into the kitchen, flicking on the lights and beginning to make dinner. The girl, Ami, was friendly and polite but clearly shy. Still, something about her was different. He couldn't place his finger on it, but he sensed there was more to her than met the eye, more beyond her pretty and fragile exterior. He ignored his prior thought on her looks, moving on. What could it possibly be though? Well, for starters, the apartment she had just moved into had been occupied by a young couple with two children who were obnoxiously screaming loudly. While their absence didn't bother him, it did make him wonder how they had possibly moved out so fast. After all, he had just spoken with the man living there two days before, and the man had been discussing with Heero how the apartment they lived in was a good investment because it would be worth a lot more in a couple of years. Why then, would they move now? Plus, they had only been residing there about three months. Why leave so fast? Heero didn't even remember seeing a moving truck or any kind of commotion. He frowned. Perhaps it would be a good idea to keep an eye on her for a few days, just to be sure. That reason, and sheer curiosity.

* * *

The next day, Ami awoke bright and early, ready to head into work and find some information. She quickly dressed in a pair of grey dress pants and pale blue button up blouse, slipping on a pair of kitten heels and putting on her usual necklace, already wearing her earrings. There had already been clothing in the entirely furnished apartment Setsuna had arranged before heading back to the gates of time. Ami didn't know how she did it but the woman was a miracle worker.

She had called for a cab a few minutes before, so she headed down to the lobby and exited when she saw the cab pull up. She was at her work quickly enough, entering and waving at the receptionist before heading to her floor.

The secretaries she had been acquainted with the previous day greeted her warmly, and as Ami set her purse on her desk she was surprised to see her neighbour, Heero, standing by the coffee machine conversing with another man with a long braid. Catching her eye, he nodded at her, Ami smiling as she sat down at her desk. The man he was with began to talk more excitedly now, although Heero glared at him.

A couple of the secretaries leaned over their desks to talk in hushed voices with her.

"How do you know Heero Yuy?"

"Heero? He's my neighbour. Why?"

"Why?" Another gushed, quieting herself. "Because he is one of the five ex-Gundam pilots we were telling you about! Isn't he handsome? I swear to you I swoon when I see him. And that other man, he's Duo Maxwell, another pilot."

Ami nodded, letting the information sink in. She hadn't been overly impressed when she had first learned that the Gundam Pilots were Preventers working with her, but having one of them living next door also seemed to add to the intrigue on the five. Everyone here respected them for obvious reasons. They were clearly talented and heroes, worth respecting. The women on the floor and in the building also seemed to swoon, also for obvious reasons.

Before she could get down to work, she heard a slight commotion behind her as the braided man, Duo Maxwell as the girls had said, tried to forcefully drag Heero towards her. She could hear him saying something along the lines of "introduce me" but she wasn't positive. Duo smiled brilliantly at her when she turned, and she couldn't help but return the smile.

"Hi babe, name's Duo Maxwell. I understand you and Heero here are neighbours and I just had to introduce myself."

At his words, Heero simply glared down at him, turning a slightly softer gaze to Ami as she spoke.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Ami Mizuno."

"The pleasure is all mine babe," Duo replied, grabbing the hand Ami had intended for him to shake and kissing it. She blushed, drawing her hand back, as a blonde man with light blue eyes approached the group with a tall man with a long bang and green eyes and a Chinese man with an angry look on his face.

"What's got you so excited this morning Duo? Oh, hello," he said, laughing humbly and extending his hand. "My apologies, I'm Quatre Winner."

"Ami Mizuno," she said smiling at him and shaking his hand, ignoring Duo's "hot secretary" comment.

"This is Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang," Quatre continued, also unfazed by Duo as Ami nodded politely at the two.

From behind her, the other four secretaries watched like hawks Ami was sure. She was positive they had all been introduced, all working in such close proximity with each other, and Duo joked and flirted lightly with some of them but didn't take the conversation beyond there.

The Pilots headed back to work, Ami knowing she had to do the same and detesting the interruption as she dove into her work and tuned out the rest of the office for a while.

She worked diligently until lunchtime. One of the girls headed down to the cafeteria and got sandwiches for everyone, so she was able to only take a few minutes for lunch and then get back to work. As of yet the morning had been unsuccessful. She had found the name of one group that had slightly peaked her interest, the Dark Alliance, and so she had scribbled it down in the notebook she kept in her purse, but there wasn't anymore information on them and that left her with no choice but to play the waiting game as she filed more papers and searched for more clues on other groups.

Her day came to an end before she knew it, one of the secretaries shaking her shoulder and telling her it was time to clock out. Ami decided that the most she could do tonight was search that group name online, and she did so, however online sources ended up proving worse than her Preventers reports of course.

* * *

Hope you liked this first chapter, I promise it gets better.


	2. Part 2

Part 2

A week passed with no further luck for Ami apart from information on a few small attacks, all seeming random. She was disheartened, to say the least. Typically, she would get sick at night in her apartment, however one of the days the previous week she had gotten horribly sick in the morning and forced to miss half of her work day.

As for her neighbour, he remained silent around her, and Ami was positive he thought she was an airhead from how he regarded her, always with that cold and calculating gaze. She had become better acquainted with Duo, who was at her desk every morning flirting or telling her how he was about to bother Heero and Wufei. Wufei had also not said much to her, and Trowa, the other quiet one, simply offered her a nod in greeting when he felt like it. Quatre, the really friendly one from the first day, also came and chatted with her and the other girls from time to time, earning sighs all around from the other secretaries when he and Duo left.

That particular Wednesday, Duo and Quatre were at her desk during lunch chatting with her. As Ami had not had much success in locating any information on her friends' whereabouts, she hadn't been planning to even take a lunch break and just eat a snack while working.

As luck would have it, Duo was bored that day. He had thoughtfully brought her a sandwich, and he was sitting on her desk chattering about how nice the weather was that day. The other secretaries had gone out for lunch, Ami having rejected the offer in an attempt to do more research in peace, and Ami was sure they would have swooned to have Duo sitting on their desks and talking earnestly for once. Quatre was simply leaned on the desk, smiling at Duo's enthusiasm for the sunny day as he munched on his sandwich.

"Let's do something fun today Ami! Quatre come on! Let's go to the park or something."

"The park?" Ami questioned, thinking that perhaps at age twenty four Duo had outgrown needing to go outside and frolic at every sunny day. Apparently not, although she guessed that Duo hadn't had a normal childhood due to the war.

"Yes, the park!" Duo continued, oblivious to Ami's confusion. "We can walk around, enjoy the day, perhaps even play a game of American football!"

"That does sound fun actually, I haven't just relaxed with my friends in a while," Quatre commented, beginning to smile brightly.

"Well then, you two and the other three go and have a good time."

Duo glanced at Ami, frowning. "What about you?"

"I'm not about to intrude on your time together, I hardly know most of your group and I've never actually played American football. I would destroy your fun."

"Ami, that's practically the point of the outing! We're friends, aren't we?" Duo asked, pouting slightly. Ami nodded at him, not wanting to hurt his feelings, however Quatre didn't seem to catch on that Ami was hesitant to come.

"Excellent. I'll go tell the others. We all finish around five, right? We could meet at Remington Park around 6?"

Duo nodded energetically at Quatre's statement as Quatre rushed off to tell the others. Ami sagged in her chair. She couldn't possibly be off having fun when her friends were in danger, but then again she was lonely and she couldn't do anything to find her friends when she wasn't in the office, as pathetic as that was.

To add to her discomfort, she was positive that Heero didn't like her, never saying a word to her, and Wufei clearly didn't think much of her. Trowa was quiet, so she couldn't be sure of anything about him. It was at times like this that she needed her friends. Where Ami would hesitate to jump into a crowd of new people and get to know them, her friends would take her hand and drag her there. Somehow, having them with her always helped Ami relax and not feel uncomfortable.

She wondered if they were badly hurt, or if they were hungry or being tortured in any way. Why would the Dark Alliance have kidnapped them at random? What was worse was the fact that they were in Makoto and Minako's apartment, goofing off and untransformed. How had the Dark Alliance even known who they were, or jumped across dimensions to come for them? Was the Dark Alliance originally from their dimension and had just fused with a rebel group in this one? It was all so confusing.....

"Ami," a soft voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up at Duo, who had leaned over the desk slightly to glance down at her. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Wrong?" She blinked shaking her head. "Nothing Duo, what could possibly be wrong?"

"You tell me," he said softly. "One minute we were joking around, and the next second you looked miserable. Are you okay? Did something happen?"

She cleared her throat before meeting his gaze, keeping her voice even and hoping her eyes didn't betray her. "Don't worry Duo, I was just thinking. Nothing's wrong, anyways how could it be when I am sitting here with a good friend having lunch?"

Her joke was a good attempt to deter him from the conversation, but Duo was positive she had added it for his benefit alone. Her smile was empty and her eyes gave her away.

"Well," Duo said thoughtfully. "I guess you're right. So, do you need a ride to the park?"

She shook her head. "I could take a cab if you'd tell me where it is."

"Don't be silly. I'll pick you up, and I guess I'll offer Heero a ride too since he does live in your apartment."

Ami nodded, the thought of riding in the car with Duo and Heero slightly sickening. Duo would be chattering non-stop and Heero would simply gaze at her coldly. It sent shivers down her spine and she couldn't keep trying to ignore it.

* * *

At the end of her shift, Ami headed home in a cab, arriving at her apartment at five-thirty and looking for something to wear to the park. It was about eighty-five degrees out and she hadn't taken a proper look through the casual clothes Setsuna ha delft her, although the dressy clothes for work were beautiful. Opening up her closet, she saw a shelf littered with casual clothing. Setsuna hadn't thought Ami would be here long, why so much clothing? Although, if she was being honest with herself: the clothes were adorable. She selected a pair of denim shorts, which weren't too short and hit her mid thigh, and a cream coloured t-shirt layered with a royal blue navy camisole that had a bit of lace on top. Slipping on a pair of flats, she was about to head downstairs and wait for Duo before someone knocked on her door. Frowning, she grabbed her apartment key and stuck some cash in her pocket, sure that Duo had come up.

She opened the door, tipping her head when she saw Heero standing outside her door.

"Duo called, he's downstairs," he said simply. She nodded, thanking him, as she stepped out of her apartment and locked her door. Of course Duo wouldn't have come up, he didn't even know which apartment was hers.

She and Heero got into the elevator, the ride silent save for the face that Ami was sure he was watching her from the corners of his eyes. Perhaps she was just being paranoid, but she always had an odd feeling when he was watching her and she usually wasn't wrong.

They exited the building and she laughed at Duo's smug grin as he sat back in his black convertible.

"Hi Duo," she said cheerily.

"Hey babe, you look awesome," he said, enticing a blush from Ami while Heero shoved his passenger's seat forwards. Ami climbed into the back, and Heero readjusted the seat and sat down, shutting the door. Duo took off immediately, beginning to talk about how excited he was and about the football he had stopped to buy.

Ami couldn't help but be relieved at her seat in the back. Heero was nodding unenthusiastically at Duo's chatter, and since he was in front of her he couldn't watch her. She leaned back in her seat, enjoying the breeze from the convertible as the wind tousled her hair.

They arrived only about fifteen minutes later, Duo hopping from the car excitedly and rushing at an unsuspecting Quatre while Heero again moved his seat so Ami could climb out. She brushed past him lightly, apologizing quickly but saying nothing more. Heero nodded, moving the seat back and shutting his door before locking the car.

He turned to stare at her as she hurried after Duo, smirking. Did he make her nervous or something? He was a bit scary, or at least he thought so. Duo was insisting that they play right away, but Wufei grumbled about how Duo had insisted that they enjoy the park.

Trowa spoke, perhaps the first time since Ami had met him. "Well playing is enjoying the park. Let's find a clearing and play."

Duo was thrilled at Trowa's suggestion, grabbing Ami and Trowa's hands arms and dragging them at top speed towards a clearing. They reached the clearing, Duo saying they should have two team captains.

"You know, maybe I should watch," Ami said, ignoring Wufei's slight shake of the head. "I've never played before; I'll just be in the way."

"No Ami, it's alright. Most of us have only played once or twice anyways," Quatre insisted. "Come on, you can play on my team. Trowa?" Trowa nodded, coming to stand beside Ami and Quatre.

"Guess that leaves us three," Duo said excitedly, eyeing Wufei and Heero.

"I can't believe I'm stuck on a team with Maxwell," Wufei grumbled, shaking his head. "Alright. Maxwell, don't screw up. I don't lose."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Wu-man, I love American football, we are gonna do awesome! Ready He-man?"

Both men looked ready to pummel their teammate, whilst Quatre and Trowa explained the rules to Ami in their huddle. It didn't seem so bad, but then again Ami had no idea what she would do once out on the field.

Wufei began telling everyone where the goal posts were as Quatre finished explaining to Ami the rules, Trowa nodding at Duo and Heero to begin.

"Okay, so Trowa will hike the ball to me, and then block anyone trying to tackle me. As soon as he hikes the ball to me, take off running towards the left side of the field, as far as you can distance yourselves from the others, and I will throw the ball to you. If one of them tries to get you, toss the ball to me or Trowa, okay?"

Ami nodded at Quatre's instructions, feeling apprehensive. Trowa stood in front of Quatre, ready to hike the ball. Ami stood on Quatre's left, and in front of her was Duo, while Heero and Wufei stood before Trowa and Quatre. Okay, so from what she understood, Wufei and Heero had clearly made Duo guard her so they could guard Trowa and Quatre. Clearly they thought she was just a spot filler on the team. Maybe she was, Ami wasn't sure, although she was decently fast from all her years as a Senshi. Even Duo seemed to be paying a bit more attention to Quatre and Trowa from where he stood in front of her. Okay.....

Quatre counted down, and Trowa hiked the ball to him. Immediately Ami took off running down the field, Duo gasping as she shot past him and chasing after her. Trowa temporarily blocked Wufei and Heero from tackling Quatre, who threw the ball to Ami just as Heero shot around Trowa and ran at him. Ami caught the ball, taking off towards the designated spot for the goal.

Duo was on her tail, and she heard Trowa shout to her from a few feet behind her, having shaken off Wufei. She threw him the ball just as Duo smacked into her, the two tumbling to the ground.

"Ooof, sorry Ames," Duo apologized, not having meant to tackle her that hard.

"It's okay, I'm used to it," she groaned, thinking of the many times Usagi knocked her to the floor. Duo helped her stand, kicking the ground when he noticed that Trowa had gotten a touch down. Quatre approached, patting Ami on the shoulder.

"That was well done, you're really fast. I didn't even think Duo would catch you," Quatre joked, Duo punching him on the arm lightly. Wufei nodded at her as he approached, appreciating the fact that she had at least taken a decently hard hit from Duo and not cried about it.

Trowa nodded at Ami, smiling when she congratulated him as Heero nodded and ushered for Duo and Wufei to come huddle by him, needing a new strategy as Ami was faster than expected.

* * *

The next few rounds moved in Duo, Wufei and Heero's favor. Right off the bat, Duo tackled Ami to ensure she wouldn't run. Wufei had taken down Quatre as he had thrown the ball to Trowa, but Heero had caught up to Trowa instantly, much faster than Ami had expected. The round after that, Wufei had scored and had been in such a good mood that he had slapped Duo a high five.

"Alright, we're tied right now, but I think we can get ahead still this round," Quatre said.

"Duo's better than they gave him credit for," Ami noted, Trowa nodding as well.

"Right, but Heero's way too fast," Trowa said.

"Well then, the have the ball, so let me block Duo," Quatre said.

"Duo's hiking the ball, and I'll keep Wufei away. Do you think you can block Heero, Ami? Maybe just keep up with him..." Trowa paused.

"Yes, intercept the ball if it comes to Heero. If you can keep on him it's possible, I doubt he'll push or tackle you," Quatre said. Ami nodded, not wanting to argue with their plans as they seemed to know the strengths of their friends.

Everyone lined up, Heero surprised as he saw them lining Ami up in his path. He smirked. Fine, but although she deserved credit for being fast he was faster.

Duo hiked the ball to Wufei. Heero shot off towards the opposite end, Ami right on his tracks. Quatre blocked Duo, and Trowa tried to tackle Wufei. Wufei threw the ball to Heero, but thanks to Trowa it didn't go straight to him. Ami and Heero both ran for the ball.

Heero's hands were about to grab the football from above her head, Ami cursing her height, before loud screams tore through the area. Rather than watch Heero catch the ball, Ami felt herself being shoved to the ground roughly, Heero throwing himself on top of her and covering her head. This occurred about half a second before an entire tree passed over their bodies and crashed into the ground about ten feet away. Heero sat up slightly, allowing her to turn around and look up at him. His usually cold eyes held concern.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded blankly, trying to control her erratic breathing as Heero tried to help her up.

"Thanks," she managed finally. The others were stunned, all about ten feet from them with their guns drawn.

"You!" A slithering voice cut through the air. They saw people in the park's main area running around, but a youma stood about fifteen feet from Heero and Ami, and it was pointing right at Ami. Ami frowned, remembering this youma as one of the one's who took her friends.

It approached stealthily, its voice almost smug as it disregarded Heero's drawn gun, the other four approaching with their own weapons quickly. "Can I pick 'em or what?"

"Stay back," Ami warned it, watching as it laughed.

"Little girl, you have no idea what you're dealing with. Stop wasting our time. We have been getting punished every day for the past week because of you and that other-"

"Pluto deadly scream!"

The sound of another voice cut through the air, the youma obliterated in an instant whilst it stood a mere five feet from Ami and Heero.

Everyone looked around, but no one could be seen. Ami's head was meanwhile spinning. Where was Pluto anyways? The youma still remembered her, and it had also been referring to Pluto or Setsuna, blaming her for trying to save everyone. The enemy must have tried to go back for her, Ami realized, and had been unable to find her. Only now, the enemy knew she was in this dimension, meaning it was just a matter of time. Either she and Pluto found them, or they found her, and Ami hoped it was the first option. Well, Pluto had destroyed the youma, so maybe no one knew she was here. Maybe she did have time.

Quatre was on his phone, calling 911 because a lot of people had been drained of their energy. This had the name of a particular group they had been investigating all over it.

Heero spun around to face Ami, tucking his gun away and grabbing her around the shoulders as the others huddled around them. "What was that monster talking about? How did it know you? What destroyed it?" He demanded angrily, any trace of kindness that had been in his eyes before now gone.

Ami was silent, and Heero shook by the shoulders now.

"It doesn't know me," she responded angrily. "It's a stupid monster. I have blue hair, maybe whoever it was chasing had blue hair. As for how it was destroyed, how would I know? I saw what you did." He practically growled at the reasonable yet untrue response, knowing it was more than that.

"Ami!"

Ami pulled away from Heero's grasp, relieved when she saw Setsuna standing there in a light purple skirt and white blouse.

She hugged Setsuna, more than relieved that she had shown up when she had. The sound of sirens filled the air as paramedics rushed onto the scene.

"Where did you come from?" Heero asked Setsuna suspiciously. She laughed lightly at his question.

"I was taking a stroll in the park of course. It's a beautiful day. Are you alright Ami? I saw a tree fly over your head," Setsuna said. Everyone stared at the beautiful newcomer, before Wufei reminded them of the issue at hand.

"We'd better go take a look, we'll have a report to file after this," Wufei stated, Heero finally grudgingly nodding but vowing to keep a much closer eye on Ami, and her strange friend if need be.

"Wait, I drove Ami," Duo said, Quatre and Trowa stopping.

"I'll take Ami home. I haven't seen her in a while, we should catch up," Setsuna said smoothly. Ami nodded, smiling at Duo.

"Yes, you go ahead and do what you have to."

Duo nodded, grinning as the five left, Heero shooting her a glare as they took off.

When they were out of hearing range, Setsuna spoke, getting tight down to business.

"Let's search the city for any negative energy. Judging by your attire, your transformation wand and computer are at home?"

Ami nodded. "Yes, let's catch a cab."

The two headed to the street and flagged a cab, stopping at Ami's apartment for a moment. They transformed inside and left through the window, Ami opening her computer as the two rushed down the city streets, searching for any signs of negative energy that might lead to a base.

* * *

Three hours later, the women were positive that the enemy base was not in the city she was residing in.

Pluto leaned against an alley wall three blocks from Ami's apartment tiredly, staring at Mercury. "I suppose it was just a freak attack. Have you seen anything of interest in the files?"

Mercury nodded. "One group, but not enough information yet, although after today's attack I'm thinking there's a chance they are who we're looking for. If that's the case, they may attack some cities often, and I just have to find out where. Hopefully within the next few days I will see something."

Pluto nodded. "Good. Beyond that, how are you feeling?"

Mercury smiled. "Fine, I've been getting sick but usually at home."

"Well, you should head home soon. You're looking a little pale and I don't want you to have an attack. As for that youma recognizing you, I destroyed it, but to be safe make sure you keep a low profile. Firstly, they will come after you, and secondly that man you were with is going to be even more suspicious. I'm going to be honest with you Mercury, once the enemy sees or hears of Sailor Mercury or Ami Mizuno in this dimension, they will likely hunt you down like the others. I don't know what they wanted with our friends, but they likely want all of us. Your name is probably safe on the payroll of the Preventers, because no one from the group that the enemy is working with wants anything to do with Preventers, but still be careful."

Mercury nodded hesitantly, agreeing with Pluto and also feeling a bit sick. It was probably time she headed home.

She de-transformed and waved goodbye to Pluto, who opened a portal and headed back to the gates of time.

Ami headed back to her apartment, only three blocks away. After the first block, she couldn't control the pain spreading from her abdomen to all her limbs, her head beginning to pound.

She muttered a curse, never one to do so but the situation fitting as she somehow made it to the front doors of her apartment. She stopped in the main lobby, breathing deeply as she placed her hands on her knees. This was going to be bad. Ami hurried into the elevator, unaware of the pair of eyes that watched her suspiciously from the doors behind her.

Heero frowned. Was the girl's iron low again? His eyes narrowed as she doubled over and grabbed her stomach. No; not her iron.

The elevator shut and Heero hurried up the back stairs, determined to catch her in a lie.

He arrived, panting heavily from how fast he had run as he ducked against the wall, to watch her stumble into the door of her apartment. The door swung closed after her, but the key was still in the door. Now that wasn't very careful.

He wondered if he should check himself before he became obsessed but ignored the mental warning and approached her door, rolling his eyes at his own foolishness before opening the door and pulling out the key. He would simply give her the key and go back to his apartment before he argued with her again he decided.

He didn't get a foot in the door of the still dark apartment however, before his foot hit something soft and from his experience most definitely a body.

Had she passed out again? Again, no. He heard her groan and he stepped back immediately, flicking on the lights and turning to look down at her. Ami was lying on her side, her hands covered in blood. He moved over to the phone at its stand to call 911, but her raspy voice stopped him.

"Stop."

His eyes widened as he looked down at her. She began to cough, more blood coating her hands as he decided to ignore her and call anyways.

"I said stop." Her coughing had ceased again and her voice was slightly clearer.

"What do you mean stop? Coughing up blood is not normal, plus you could hardly walk," he stated.

"Why were you watching me?" She questioned, wiping some blood dripping from the side of her mouth with the back of her hand as she sat up slightly, looking up and meeting his gaze. He ignored the natural impulse he had to help her up and make sure she was alright. Clearly she was up to something and he had to find out what it was, whether she was sick or not. Plus, she was too damn smart for her own good.

"I wasn't," he lied. "You left your key in your door."

Ami allowed him to sidestep the question, too sick to deal with him and not wanting him to be with her while she had an attack. As much as her friends always tried to help her, Ami preferred to be alone when this happened. "Thank you. Goodnight."

Heero was about to leave as planned, but the previous natural impulse won out for a moment as he picked her up off the floor without permission and carried her down the hall.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, tucking her bloodied hands close to her and ducking her face in embarrassment.

"I'm taking you to your room. I didn't think you could walk there."

She was silent a moment, before responding. "Thank you."

"Which room is it?"

"On the right."

He nodded, entering the bedroom and setting her down on the bed carefully. He turned, switching on the lights. Ami had leaned over to her nightstand and grabbed some tissues, wiping the blood from her hands and mouth but stopping as another fit of coughs ensued, glad she had the tissues now. Heero stood awkwardly, debating whether he should leave since she was obviously a liar or stay and help her. Ami made the decision for him.

She stopped coughing, her hands flying to her stomach as she trembled slightly, speaking. "You can go. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" He asked, genuinely wondering what the hell she was sick with as the trembling turned to her body full out shaking and the pain became evident on her face, her eyes tearing.

"Please go," she said quietly. All he could do was nod in response, turning and stalking out of the room. He headed down the hall and out the door, shutting it behind him as he entered his own apartment.

If anyone could relate all of the events of the last week and come up with a decent conclusion as to what was going on, it was him. He decided not to fill his friends in on anything more until he had decided the truth, needing the fool Duo to continue to befriend Ami.

* * *

Next chapter gets even better I think. Review if you are moved to do so lol.


	3. Part 3

Part 3

On Thursday Morning, she was standing by the coffee machine while Stacey chattered excitedly with her about the latest date she'd been on. Ami had selected a simple dark navy skirt, sleek with a slightly higher waist, stopping about four inches above her knee, and a sleeveless button up white blouse with dark navy pumps to match. She also wore silver earrings that had a tiny blue crystal dangling off, simple and yet elegant. She hadn't wanted to admit it at first, always preoccupied with finding clues to find her friends, but the wardrobe Setsuna had left her, both casual and professional, was much cuter than the clothes she owned in Tokyo and it had become almost fun to get dressed for work every morning.

"Well anyways, he was totally cute and he held my chair out for me and opened my door for me and like wow," Stacey gave a longing sigh. "He was such a gentleman!"

"Sounds perfect for you," Ami agreed, knowing how much Stacey loved chivalrous men. Ami poured herself a cup of coffee while Stacey agreed with her statement, diving into another explanation of her date to Laura, who had just approached for a cup of coffee as well.

"Well well, it sounds like you had a good time last night," Duo's voice cut in on the three, making Stacey instantly blush and Laura smile broadly. He and Heero had come to grab coffee, and Duo was as usual flirting with anything with legs.

"I did," Stacey said. "He was nice."

"Well, that may be true," Duo said, approaching Stacey almost sensually as he bent closer to her to speak. "But I'm sure he's no Duo Maxwell, am I right?"

"I wouldn't know," Stacey tried, but Duo's smile widened.

"Do you want to?"

Stacey and Laura, both of whom acted indignant at this point, were completely floored by Duo's actions.

"You're a perve," Stacey said with a laugh finally, acting like Duo had no effect on her at all as she dragged Laura back to the cluster of desks where Ami was positive the two would retell the tail to the other two secretaries in exact detail.

"You shouldn't do that to them Duo," Ami lightly reprimanded from where she stood taking a sip of her coffee. Heero watched her carefully, but he always did and Ami was sure this was just a sign of mistrust on his end.

"Do what?" Duo asked innocently, pouring himself and Heero a couple of mugs of coffee.

"Tease the girls like that," Ami said, shaking her head. "You just gave them ammo to daydream about you for another month Duo, that's not fair. Stacey just had a really nice date and now she's going to compare him to you and possibly mess up that new relationship."

"Ami, Ami, Ami, all of my intentions are pure when I flirt with the girls over there," Duo said flippantly, passing Heero the mug he had poured. Heero stared at Ami even more critically now as she reprimanded Duo.

"Really?" Ami asked, watching him before speaking. "So are you ever going to ask one of them out?"

Duo's smile faded as he tried to think of a plausible excuse, and for a moment Ami was sure she saw Heero smirk despite the fact that he was mad at her.

Duo didn't stay down for long, recovering quickly and grinning at Ami. "I will just have to prove you wrong then Ami. Choose a girl and I will ask her out."

"No," Ami said, shaking her head. "You're making it a game, I don't like games. These girls have feelings you know." Again, Heero was giving her that calculating look.

"Fine," Duo said. "I suppose I will just have to ask you out then. See most women don't speak to me the way you have been, and I gotta admit it Ami, I like it."

"Again, no," Ami said, grinning as Duo's face fell and touching his arm lightly to make him feel better. "I'm sorry, I just can't. It's not you, you're really very nice and I think we'll be very good friends while I'm here."

Heero was smirking again, and Duo looked stunned, apparently not used to being turned down, that much was clear. Ami felt bad, but was positive that the man would be chasing another woman in the building within the hour, so she didn't feel that bad.

"Right, good friends," Duo said lamely. "See you later friend," he added, grabbing his mug of coffee as Heero followed him into their offices. Ami shrugged, heading back to her desk and getting right to work.

* * *

Duo meanwhile entered the office where the other three pilots worked, hurrying Heero through the door, who glared at him, and then shutting and locking it. He turned to the other three in the room, Heero's smirk returning, as he spoke in a higher tone than normal, sounding worried.

"Is something on my face? Is my hair messed up? Do I look like I need sleep?"

The other three gazed at him oddly.

"What the hell are you going on about Maxwell," Wufei barked, trying to quickly gulp down his coffee and increase his tolerance for Duo. Trowa and Quatre exchanged glances, while Heero continued to smirk, speaking.

"Mizuno lectured Duo on teasing the secretaries and then turned down a date," he said solemnly.

The other three stared at Duo, who looked panicked. Quatre and Wufei burst out laughing, Wufei pointing, while Trowa smirked and shared a look with Heero.

Quatre quickly got himself under control, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry Duo! I just, never thought I'd see the day," he said, Wufei's laughter causing him to laugh again. A smile tugged at Duo's lips, him unable to resist as he burst out laughing too.

Heero turned to stare out the window at Ami, who was diligently working at her desk as usual. She wasn't like the other girls, who liked to waste hours at a time goofing off, but was pretty focused on her work. He had been watching her that week out of his suspicions about his neighbours moving out so quickly when they had no intention to, but as of yet had observed very little about the woman. Also, that monster attack yesterday had left him suspicious as hell, but again he didn't know anything about it. Plus, she must have lied to him the first day he had met her about having low iron, since clearly she was ill with something. All he really knew about her was that she was beautiful and that bit of information he kept to himself, although he was impressed about how she had held her own against Duo. He had to wonder though why she was such a diligent worker. She really didn't seem much for distractions, odd since her job was 100% paperwork.

His eyes narrowed suddenly, watching as she discreetly pulled a small notebook from her purse and scribbled down a few things in it. Then she put the notebook away quickly and returned to searching through the papers.

Odd. That was confidential information, surely she knew that. Then again, perhaps she had just remembered something she had to do later and had written it down. That was plausible, but he didn't think so. Then again, he had no proof that she had written down anything to do with the paper she had been filing, so he decided just to keep an incredibly close watch on her instead. After all, too many things didn't add up. His neighbours moving out, her possibly writing down confidential information, her obvious lies about her sickness, and the monster attack from the day before all pointing to a problem.

"Keep an eye on Mizuno," he said to his loud friends, all of them stopping. "She's up to something."

* * *

Ami smiled a small smile of triumph. The group's name she had been interested in the week before, the Dark Alliance, had some more information today, involved with unexplained missing people and people found weirdly unconscious, almost completely "drained of energy needed to function" as the report said. That had her enemy written all over it. The report was from six months before, indicating that the enemy had been planning something for a while and also that there must be much newer and more detailed information to come if she continued to work diligently. She felt closer to finding her friends than she had the whole week, vowing to head into the city of the report, which was actually not too far away, and search for any clues she could find as soon as she found a third piece of unexplainable evidence indicating a recent attack in that city. If there was indeed an attack there or in any other city from them within the last month, Ami would check it out.

She reread the group name. "The Dark Alliance," she murmured. They would call themselves that, wouldn't they? So that meant that the attack at the park the day before had probably been from the Dark Alliance as well. She and Pluto had already searched the city she was residing in for the Dark Alliance headquarters and it wasn't here, so she figured that the attack in this city had been a first of its kind. The attacks seemed more constant in the city from the attack she had just read about, so it was very possible that their headquarters were hidden there. She looked up the city name again. Garderville. Yes, if she found one more report about a Dark Alliance attack in Garderville, she would go there.

She filed the report, about to grab a second stack of papers from her desk when an odd feeling came over her.

"No, not now," she muttered, standing abruptly and turning from her desk.

"What's wrong Ami, you look pale," Layanna, another secretary, observed.

Ami nodded. "I'm fine, just a bit nauseous," she assured, heading towards the bathroom at an even pace. This increase in power must have been much bigger than usual, because she felt like her head was going to split open.

She passed the other offices and turned into the hallway of the washrooms, almost doubling over in the empty hallway from how crippling the pain was. It had spread to her stomach, a blinding pain, and her limbs trembled as she gripped it and her head, trying to remain standing.

Heero, whom had followed his suspicious neighbour down the hall, stopped in the shadows as she turned into the deserted hallway leading to the washrooms. She stopped, rather than proceed, making Heero wonder what she was up to, before doubling over.

Seeing that she actually could not proceed any further he frowned, watching as she fell to her knees without warning. Still doubled over and body shaking, she coughed into one of her hands, which came up bloody, breathing heavily and concentrating on not getting any blood on her shirt so she could get back to work.

"Do you need an ambulance?" A cool voice asked, Ami recognizing it instantly as she looked up and met Heero's even gaze. He crouched down next to her, noticing the trail of blood from her mouth and correlating it with the previous night.

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head as she brought her other trembling hand to wipe at the blood at her mouth, keeping her hands a careful distance from her clothes and him. "I'm fine, you can go."

Heero stared at her critically. She didn't want help again? Why? From her heavy breathing and trembling form, he was sure she couldn't stand. Choosing his words carefully, he spoke.

"Like I said yesterday, coughing up blood and collapsing is not 'fine,'" he said in his normal monotone, not breaking eye contact with her as he spoke. He asked what he had been waiting to ask since the previous night. "Did you lie about having low iron?"

His voice was soft but commanded a response from her, and she had no choice but to nod and think of another excuse for a not too serious illness with these symptoms when her head didn't feel like it was going to split open.

"Why?"

Before she could try and respond Duo and Wufei came walking around the corner. Well, Duo came hurrying around the corner calling for Heero while Wufei followed him grumbling about how he should shut up.

"Ami! Are you alright?" Duo asked, Ami cursing her luck as she realized that she most definitely would be getting sent home sick if Duo didn't keep quiet. Apparently though, Duo had forgotten his previous depression at her rejection, because he was by her side in an instant glaring at Heero. "Where did this blood come from? Heero, did you hit Ami in the mouth?"

Ami almost laughed despite the pain she was in, gasping when she realized Duo was serious.

"Duo, of course not."

Duo nodded, Wufei smirking at Heero who glared daggers at Duo for the suggestion.

"Come on Ami, can you stand?" Duo asked, grabbing her arm. She nodded but Heero spoke.

"No, she can't."

Ami turned to glare at Heero. Taking in how pale Ami was and how much she still trembled, Duo nodded.

"Hang on Ami, let me get you some paper towels so you can at least clean off the blood."

He rushed into the washroom and left her with Wufei and Heero. Wufei stared at her somewhat intrigued, turning his attention to Heero when he spoke.

"Why did you lie about having low iron?"

Wufei frowned, not catching on, but was surprised when the onna grappled for a response.

"It was the.....easier explanation," she said finally, ignoring his piercing look.

Duo returned with wet and dry paper towels, Ami quickly wiping her hands of the blood and then removing traces of the blood from her mouth, crumpling up the paper towels. Duo reached out to take it from her and she shook her head.

"Ami, don't be embarrassed! There's a waste bin right there anyways," he said, grabbing it from her and tossing it in the bin. "Come on, let's get you up! What happened?"

"It's no big deal," she said quietly as Duo reached down to help her stand, Heero standing up next to Wufei. As Heero expected, Ami couldn't stand. He could see her struggling to just hold on to Duo as he grabbed her arms.

Duo pulled her to her feet and her legs gave out immediately, Duo gasping and catching her, crouching down quickly.

"Shit, Heero was right."

Ami turned away, her head swimming. "S-sorry. Leave me....I'll catch up."

"No way Ami, you need to rest. We should get you home," Duo insisted.

"No," she said, shaking her head and getting dizzy again. Duo caught Ami's shoulders as she blacked out a few seconds, her eyes trying to focus on Duo's face as he spoke.

"Ami, people here go home over slight headaches. You can't stand, we're getting you home. Did you drive?" Duo asked.

She shook her head. "....took a cab," she managed to say.

"Ami, you can't walk, how will you take a cab?" Duo reminded her. "I'll take you home. Heero knows which apartment is yours, right?"

Wufei shook his head at Duo excitement to get out of work as Ami spoke up.

"My purse....."

"Leave me out of this then," Wufei said, heading back to work. Heero began to tell Duo to go get the purse, but stopped himself when he remembered her notebook was in her purse. It was a low move, but.....it would definitely put his mind at ease.

"I'll grab it," Heero said stoically, causing Duo's mouth to drop as Heero stalked off.

Heero headed up to Ami's desk and grabbed her purse. The other secretaries seemed surprised that he had approached them but more surprised at him touching her purse.

"Excuse me Mr. Yuy, what do you want with Ami's purse?" Laura asked. Heero nodded at her, meeting her gaze and causing the woman to instantly blush.

"Ami's not feeling well. She's going home, I'm just grabbing it for her."

"Right, of course," Layanna cut in while Stacey and Nina nodded energetically in support. "She said she wasn't feeling well."

Heero nodded, grabbing the purse and stalking back down the hall. Before he reached the hallway where Duo sat with Ami, he ducked into his private office, unseen, and made sure the blinds were shut and the door was closed before he opened her purse.

Heero had never been taught not to go through a woman's purse, but it seemed like it was culturally taboo and he felt like scum doing it. Still, sometimes it was necessary....

With this thought, he rifled through her purse and easily found the small notebook. Opening it up, he saw that she had written in it a few times, as a couple of the pages were filled. She had written details about attacks, strange energy drainings, and missing people all revolving around the group "The Dark Alliance." He and the pilots had investigated them a few times under orders from the Preventers but usually came up empty handed, always being evaded. In fact, he and the others had suspected that the Dark Alliance had been behind yesterday's attack at the park. That monster with the Dark Alliance, whatever it was, had recognized her. Why did she need to know details about this group? Was she affiliated with them? Was she a spy? What the hell was she doing?

Quickly he snapped the notebook closed and moved to zip up her purse, stopping once he noticed two odd blue objects. One was what seemed to be a tiny computer, but when he opened it, it wouldn't respond to his fingerprint to unlock the screen. Also, there was an odd pen in her purse. It was beautiful to look at, gold with the symbol of Mercury on top. However after looking at it carefully, he realized it wasn't a pen at all. What the hell was it? He was taking too long, so he shoved everything back in the purse and grabbed his keys, stalking out of the room.

Turning the corner, he approached Ami and Duo. Duo was still sitting on the floor, holding Ami up by her shoulders. Ami's hands were clutching her head, perhaps trying to help with the dizziness or obvious pain but he wasn't sure.

Duo glanced up at Heero as he stopped in front of them. Heero looked monotonous as usual, but Duo saw a glint of anger in his eyes, only confirmed when Heero said something nice.

"You can stay here Maxwell. No worries, I'll get her home and come back."

Ami glanced up, releasing her head and frowning at Heero. She didn't want him to take her, and she also caught the slight anger in his eyes.

"Please...can I just call a cab?" she asked Duo, Duo taking this as a sign that she didn't want Heero to take her.

"But Ami, you can't walk. Really Heero, I'll take her." He received a death glare from Heero, and gulped slightly, Ami suddenly feeling sorry for the tensions she was causing between the two friends. Although, in all honesty she had no idea why Heero was angry or why he clearly disliked her.

Feeling sorry for Duo, she spoke up, reaching her hand up and squeezing his hand that gripped her shoulder. "It's okay. You're a good friend Duo."

"....and you're smart Ami," Duo said, also noticing that Ami had thought she had created a conflict between the two. Heero would never hold a grudge of course, he was his best friend, but Duo really didn't want to be on his bad side and for some reason Heero was suspicious of Ami. Duo didn't think Ami was deserving of suspicion but clearly Heero felt he had something to gain, perhaps information of some kind, if he took her home and Duo didn't want to interfere. Heero was hiding something and Duo would grill him later to find out what.

Standing and picking her up, he offered to walk the two to Heero's car.

"Fine," Heero said grudgingly, knowing Duo wouldn't interfere beyond there and that Duo had figured out that Heero knew something.

They took the back elevators, just down the opposite hall, Ami's head spinning. She wished the pounding in her head would go away but it just continued, making it impossible for her to think clearly. Why was Heero so suspicious of her? She had noticed that he had been cold the last week, but the last fifteen minutes suggested he thought something worse than simple mistrust. Perhaps she should just succumb to the blackness that threatened to take over and then Heero wouldn't question her. Then again, she didn't trust him enough.

She sighed, feeling like she needed a bottle of Tylenol as she leaned her head against Duo's shoulder as they walked across the parking lot. She felt secure around him, like he was an old friend. Perhaps it was his kind and beaming personality; he seemed to bring light into the room when he entered like some of her other friends.

Duo frowned down at the girl. If he didn't let Heero question her about whatever he was angry about, he would be accused of falling for a pretty face, but Heero was hardcore and he felt bad for the girl. After all, she was blacking in and out and had been coughing up blood, she was clearly seriously sick.

Heero drove a two seater, so he opened up the passenger's door and let Duo set Ami down on the seat and help her with the seat belt. He walked around the car and got in the drivers side, watching as Ami looked up at Duo.

"I'm sure you'll feel much better after a good rest today, but Ami, you should go see a doctor about that bloody cough and the blacking out, that's never good." She nodded blankly, looking up as Duo added "call me if you need anything." He passed her the purse Heero had grabbed, also slipping her his number should Heero lose it and flip out on the girl. Heero glared and revved the engine, so Duo stepped away from the car and waved slightly.

Heero drove out of the lot quickly, and Duo frowned, wondering what Heero knew that he had yet to enlighten them on. He was feeling sort of down until he spotted a pair of lovely long legs attached to a perfect figure walking towards the front doors.

"Hey gorgeous! Haven't seen you around before," he called, following her trail.

* * *

Heero drove quickly out of the lot, Ami grabbing her head with one hand and the door with the other, the speed not helping her condition. Heero either didn't notice or didn't care as he quickly headed to the apartment, which was only five minutes away by car.

Parking the car, he opened his door and slipped out, shutting the door and walking around his silver two seater to the other side of the car. He opened Ami's door, watching as she feebly undid her seatbelt but remained silent. She reached a hand to hold the door as she tried to find the strength to walk out of the car and not black out.

Heero unfortunately was not in a patient mood, reaching in and simply grabbing her.

"Hey," she protested.

"Are you saying you can walk?" He asked, and she went silent, gripping her purse in her hands and crossing her arms as Heero entered the apartment building and pushed the button on the elevator. It opened immediately, and he stepped inside and pushed floor five.

"I didn't know my neighbours had any intention of moving out, they had just moved in," he commented finally, Ami's jaw dropping. Was that really the only reason?

"Yes, I made them an offer that they couldn't resist," she finally said. Heero nodded, staring straight forwards and speaking.

"How much?"

Ami cursed her luck. She didn't know anything about property values in the area, let alone the cost of an apartment she had only been in once. Plus, she was a secretary. Her wages clearly weren't good.

"Ninety-five thousand," she said finally, noticing Heero's grip on her tighten, but he spoke calmly.

"Hn, that's odd. I was speaking with my neighbour only a day before you moved in. You see, he and his family had moved in about three months before. My neighbour had been discussing property values. You see, this is an up and coming area and he bought the apartment you are residing in for about one hundred and thirty thousand. He was predicting that within a year or two, the values would rise to about two hundred thousand, since the apartment was a decent size. Tell me something, why would my neighbour move out of his house and settle for thirty five thousand less than he paid and far less than what he expected to make on the apartment after recently moving in?"

It was the longest thing he had ever said to her and it made her blood run cold. She was totally unprepared to answer questions like this, knowing nothing about the area she was residing in.

"Well," she lied. "He had a family emergency. My agent got me the apartment the moment he decided to put it on sale. My offer was less than what he paid but convenient."

"And you moved everything in, right away."

"The next day," she said flatly, hoping he would drop it. He did, because he was walking down the hall of the fifth floor and stopping in front of her door. She gave him her keys and he opened the door, stepping in and not needing to put the lights on as sun streamed in through the windows in the apartment.

The apartment was immaculate but untouched, clearly not lived in much yet. He shut the door, setting her down on the couch as she placed her purse on the table next to it.

"One more thing, if you will?" He asked coolly, and she nodded blankly, knowing he would ask anyways.

"Why are you writing down confidential information on the Dark Alliance?"

His question caught her off guard, and she stared up at him in shock. No wonder he had been suspicious, but how had he known?

"I'm sure you know that you signed an agreement when you were hired prohibiting you from taking any information on our files outside of the office. It's confidential for a reason you know."

"I know," she began, wishing they could go back to the part where he was asking about the apartment now.

"Are you affiliated with them? Are you a spy for them?"

His question caught her off guard. "Sorry? No; of course not. I would never work for those people. Who gave you permission to go through my purse?" She demanded heatedly, ignoring the sudden rush of dizziness that took over her as she raised her voice.

Heero didn't show any regret at his actions on his face, although his face never gave away much as he shrugged and spoke coldly. "I saw you writing something from the files down. It's my job."

"It is not your job to go through people's purses, I could have been writing down something for myself!"

"But you weren't. This is grounds for being fired and possibly serving jail time if we can prove you're affiliated."

"I'm not affiliated!" She shouted now, bringing her hands to her head as she nearly blacked out. Knowing she was in the right state of mind for continued questioning, he pressed on. After all, she couldn't think of too many lies.

"That attack yesterday, at the park, was committed by the Dark Alliance. One of their monsters recognized you."

"I told you, I don't know anything about that monster," she said angrily.

"There was an odd looking pen in your purse, and it had the symbol of Mercury on top, except it wasn't a pen, what is that?"

Ami looked up, ignoring her head again as she became furious once more. Unbelievable, Ami never lost her temper but he was causing her to do so.

"It's a silly trinket from a friend, why do you care about it?"

"There was also a blue mini-computer with the same symbol on it," he continued, knowing her calm exterior had cracked.

"Again, something that is none of your business," she retorted angrily. He remained calm, only infuriating her more.

"Why were you looking into the Dark Alliance?"

"Curiosity," she responded.

"Try again," he said.

"I gave you my answer," she retorted.

Shaking his head, Heero pulled out his gun and approached her.

"Listen, the Dark Alliance is a bad group for you to be involved with."

She gasped at the gun, moving backwards on the couch but unable to do much more as she still couldn't walk.

"I don't work for them. I told you," she snapped back.

Heero shook his head again. "You may have Duo fooled, but even he would cringe at the sight of this group's name in a notebook belonging to you. Anyways, simple curiosity doesn't cause a person to write down exact dates, times, and locations of attacks."

Ami grew silent, her head about to split open from how much yelling she had just done. She was aggravating her condition.

He came closer with the gun, crouching down next to the couch she was sitting on and putting it eye level with her but keeping it about a foot from her face.

"I need an answer," he said quietly, his tone now even more intimidating.

Despite the gun being so close, she gave a soft reply. "You're not getting the one you're looking for."

Heero frowned deeply. "I'll have to get you fired then. Then I'll lead an investigation to assure you are charged and put in jail."

She glared at him. "I don't have the time for that right now."

"The- the time?" He repeated, a smirk taking over his face. "Oh really? You're currently being held at gunpoint by a Preventer, and that doesn't indicate that the situation is a little more serious?"

Ami moved away from him, finding the strength to move backwards on the couch. He stood, putting the gun away before he saw that Ami had her purse in her hand, unzipping it. Then her notebook was in her hand, and she was tearing apart the two pages with Heero's proof.

How could he have made such a rookie mistake? He cursed, lunging at her and trying to grab the papers, now in little bits on the floor.

He turned to look at the girl, now looking weak from how she had exerted herself by moving so fast. His glare was intense, far worse than what he had given Duo, but Ami refused to back down.

"It's my word against yours you know," he said stoically.

"True..."she said, feeling like she was going to black out for sure now but knowing she had to finish what she was saying. "But....indulge me in this. The girls saw you grab my purse...right?"

He nodded, not knowing what she was getting at. "They know I don't have a car. Obviously, you reiterated the fact that I was sick to them. They know you took me home. I was defenseless, couldn't stand, everyone who saw you and Duo carry me out of the building could see that. It's on the security cameras."

He nodded blankly, not liking where she was going with it. Ami didn't like where she was headed either, and she felt like a horrible individual for the threat she was about to make. She would never go through with what she was about to tell Heero, but saving her friends was more important than saving his feelings and she had to go back to work without a problem the next day.

"The apartment's security cameras, in the hall and in the elevator, have proof of you bringing me up to my apartment, entering, and shutting the door. From there on out, it's anyone's story, and you have been here a while."

A furious and uncharacteristic expression took over Heero's face. "You're not suggesting that you would......" he trailed off.

"I wouldn't unless I had to, but Heero you don't understand how badly I need this job. I would hate to have to tell anyone."

"They know I would never," he began.

"Well, many very loved and respected people have committed forcible sex offenses. I see no reason why you couldn't. I mean, it would make headlines." Ami felt sick at the words she was telling him. She was disgusted with herself that it would have to come to saying these awful things to save her friends.

Heero was furious, turning and punching the mirror next to him lest he take out his anger on her. The glass cut his hand but he ignored it.

"Well," he said suddenly, cooling off and playing her game now. The horrified look on her face when he had punched the mirror had been all he needed to know that she wasn't serious at all. She was softer than her words or actions indicated. He appreciated her tact, however low it was as he approached her. "You want to stay at your job and if I don't let you, you're going to tell everyone I forced myself upon you, correct? So let's just make things easier on both of us. I could have my way with you and then let you keep your job."

He was on the couch next to her in a flash, leaning over her as she leaned back over the arm rest, trembling at the warp hole she had just opened. He wouldn't.

"No," she said quickly, and he smirked, tracing his fingers up over her neck as he grabbed her face.

Her heart was thudding loudly in her chest and her head's pounding just reminded her how defenseless she actually was.

"Come on now," he said lowly. "You think I'm scum anyways, so why shouldn't I just go ahead and prove it to you? Then you keep your job and go on with your business with the Dark Alliance." His mouth was at her ear as he spoke, his breath sending shivers down her spine as she debated whether or not to believe him. He must have been playing games with her just as she had been. His lips trailed down from her ear, lightly touching her jaw and almost teasing her as Ami wondered what his intentions were. Her heart rate had doubled and Ami wondered how common it was for a twenty-three year old to have a heart attack.

Heero meanwhile could feel her heart pounding as he was leaned on top of her, wondering if she was just in disbelief or trying to figure out if he was playing games as well. He was, technically, however being in such close proximity to her wasn't helping him think clearly at all, almost as if his body had a mind of its own as he teased her, daring her to go through with her plan. He had to wonder, as his face rested just next to hers, inhaling the sweet perfume she had put on that morning, if part of his infatuation with Ami's "wrong doing" had come from his clear attraction to her, a fact he had blatantly been trying to ignore. His eyes travelled down her stiff body, perhaps from apprehension or disbelief. Her skirt was scrunched from his position over her, far more indecent than it had been at the office as it was scrunched to her upper thighs. He looked away immediately, trying to control himself and remember his original intent.

Ami chanced meeting his gaze as he raised his head slightly and looked at her, his breathing slightly heavier than before although she wasn't aware that hers matched. When she caught his eyes, there was unmistakable desire in them, far different from the look he normally gave her. No one had ever looked at her that way, and it scared and infatuated her at the same time.

He stared back, unaware of the look he was giving her but fully lost in her big blue orbs, which neither suggested that she was rejecting his false offer or accepting it. Ami couldn't move a muscle, stunned as to what to do, and his lips were crushing hers a moment later. Ami must not have been thinking at all as she responded a moment later to his heated kisses, opening her mouth and allowing his tongue access as she deepened the kiss.

Heero seemed to catch himself in what he was doing first, pulling away and staring down at her, his breathing haggard.

Mind whirling and now worried that he wasn't messing around even though she had fully responded like the idiot that she was, Ami was unaware how her eyes reflected her thoughts. Heero realized he had successfully scared her and in turn scared himself, unable to comprehend how he had lost control so quickly. He moved off of her quickly and to the edge of the couch, breathing deeply and allowing her to sit up slightly and breathe.

Heero was sure he had most definitely scared her, or perhaps she was afraid of her own reaction to him as she attempted to get off the couch entirely. He put his head in his hands, running them through his hair as he tried to rack his brain for something to explain his totally uncharacteristic actions in the last five minutes. It was surely her fault; he had never acted this way until he had met her.

Hearing a small thump shook him from his thoughts, and he looked up and saw that Ami lay limp on the floor. He cursed lightly. He had forgotten that she was sick and he was sure that in her apprehension the detail had slipped her mind as she had probably been desperate to get off of the couch and away from him. What illness did she have anyways? It seemed pretty serious, and here he was scaring her.

He picked her up carefully, laying her on the opposite couch as he tried to think. He could just go back to the office and ignore Duo's questions. That didn't sound too good, then again if he didn't return to the office soon Duo would call him a million times to make sure everything had gone okay.

Still, he couldn't leave without clearing up some of the things said and done today. Both he and Ami had way too much to discuss and he still was suspicious of her. Now he was ready to shoot himself. He was acting stupid and irresponsible, like Duo.

No, he shook his head. Even Duo wouldn't have committed all of the stupidities he had since this morning. What was this girl doing to him?

Said object of his thoughts began to shift on the couch, confusion as to why she was laying there automatically replaced with remembrance as she eyed Heero sitting on the opposite couch.

Heero stared back at her silently, and Ami, never knowing what he was thinking, decided to plunge right into an apology.

"I'm sorry."

He must have been confused, because his brows knitted together slightly as he tipped his head at her, although the rest of his face stayed emotionless.

"I'm sorry about what I said," she clarified. "I'm sure you figured it out, but for the record, I would never under any circumstance wrongly accuse someone of taking advantage of me. Just threatening you made me sick."

Her words, although he had known she would never do it, still cleared up some of the air in the room. Heero thought it best if he quickly corrected what had happened, an apology in no way leaving his mouth though.

"I was messing around with you. I would never really suggest exchanging sex for information or someone's job. What I suggested actually disgusts me."

Ami nodded, the two left in silence before she spoke. "I have to get back to work."

Heero stared her down. Why was she so desperate to go back? Ami held his gaze evenly.

"I won't write anything down," she promised.

"I assure you, I won't let you," he responded, before speaking. "Just answer me this. Why the hell do you care about the Dark Alliance?"

"My friends are some of the missing people on th Dark Alliance records. The monster that recognized me yesterday was one of the one's that took them." It was sort of true, although she doubted her friends were on record since they had been captured from the other dimension.

Heero debated her answer, staring at her calculatingly. He saw no lie in her face at the statement, but spoke. "You know Ami, people who go missing after having run-ins with these organizations are usually found dead."

Ami stiffened, and Heero mentally sighed. He hadn't meant it cruelly, he just wanted her to understand what she was getting involved with. "What can you do with any information you gather? Seek them out?"

She nodded her head, and he shook his own. "The Dark Alliance is one of the trickiest groups we've had to deal with since the war. They go from place to place like ghosts and even if they do strike a city two or three times, we still can't catch or trace them. They're incredibly dangerous and I don't think you should get involved any further."

She nodded again, knowing full well how dangerous they were. "Then let me have some peace of mind and figure out what happened to my friends."

He shook his head at her. "Listen, stay at work if you want." She began nodding but he cut her off. "You promise me something first though. You never follow a lead or investigate a crime report. The Preventers are there for a reason. If you think you have something, come to me or one of the others. Understood?"

She nodded again, thinking it wasn't technically a lie because if she investigated a lead and it was truly dangerous, then Sailor Mercury would technically be the one doing it.

He nodded, ignoring a second call from Duo on his cell and glancing at her again. "What are you sick with?"

"It's a combination of a few things, it's minor," she said. "By next year my doctor thinks it will go away all together."

"It doesn't seem minor. Why a year?"

She shrugged. "I uh- had surgery a year ago and I got a lot of complications from it, so hopefully by next year they should all be resolved."

"What kind of surgery?"

Ami wanted to hit him, he was so damn sharp. She knew he was her equal intellectually. What was serious enough to cause her these complications?

"I replaced a faulty valve in my heart."

He nodded, satisfied for now, as he stood.

"Then I'll leave you to rest."

She nodded and watched as he let himself out, falling back against the couch exhaustedly. This man would be the end of her. Anyways she still had to berate herself for kissing him back like that, what the hell had she been thinking? Shaking her head, she figured it probably was a good idea to get some sleep.

* * *

Heero shut Ami's door, opening his cell and calling back Duo as he entered his apartment and quickly patched up his hand. He then headed back to his car. He had taken a long time and was sure that Duo was convinced he had mistreated Ami in some way.

Duo picked up the phone almost right away, sounding panicky.

"What the hell is taking you so long?"

"Nothing, I just questioned her and stopped in my apartment for a bit," Heero responded, getting in his car and starting the engine. Duo grew silent, but he was sure his platonic answer had relaxed him.

"You're telling me everything when you get back here," Duo said.

"Right," Heero said, hanging up. Well, not everything. He would tell Duo that he had caught Ami writing down details on the Dark Alliance and that she had explained to him about her friends being captured. That was all. Everything else was a mess.

* * *

Please Review, I really need input!


	4. Part 4

Thanks to whoever did review, and please people if you're reading review, I need feedback and I don't have much encouragement. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, review!!

* * *

Part 4

Heero pulled up at the Preventers headquarters and headed back upstairs. He was not surprised when Duo nearly jumped him, trying to drag him into her private office. Quatre stood next to Duo, looking worried as he spoke. "What took you so long to question that poor girl?"

Upon entering the office, he saw Wufei, sitting and looking pissed off like usual, and Trowa, who seemed to the normal eye uninterested although Heero saw a glimpse of curiosity in his eyes and a smirk beginning to form on his face.

Quatre shut the door and locked it, covering his ears as Duo began to talk loudly.

"You took forever, I knew I should have come with you!"

Thinking back to the events and words of the last hour in detail, Heero was positive that he should have allowed Duo to come and perhaps a third party would have prevented it. Although he hated to admit that he didn't mind the last part so much.

"Calm down," he said softly and monotonously, although his glare immediately shut Duo up.

"I will tell you what I am about to say only once, and we will not discuss it again. Anything new we learn is another story."

Everyone leaned in, not understanding.

"I was suspicious of Ami for a few reasons that had to do with my neighbours moving out so quickly. She also has no idea what she's talking about in terms of real estate," he shook his head sourly although everyone just gaped, utterly confused. "Apart from my suspicions about that monster knowing her yesterday, this morning I caught her writing down something from the documents she was filing. It was on the Dark Alliance. I went through her purse when I went to grab it earlier and found the proof."

"Perfect, we'll bust her, stupid onna," Wufei muttered. Heero shook his head.

"I accused her of being affiliated with the Dark Alliance, but she tore up the papers. I told her that it was still my word against hers and we argued back and forth," Heero spoke confidently, but from how thoughtfully he spoke Duo was sure Heero was editing. "Then she confessed that her friends were missing thanks to the Dark Alliance and that the monster knew her because of that. I made her swear not to play hero and she could come back to work."

"That's it?" Trowa asked.

Heero nodded.

Quatre stared at him a moment, exchanging a look with Duo. "That's not it Heero," Quatre said, shaking his head. "What are you keeping from us? What took you so long?"

"We were arguing a long time," Heero said with a shrug.

Duo smirked suddenly. "Whatever you say, Heero."

"Right," Heero said, not falling into Duo's taunt. No way was he telling his friends all the accusations he and Ami had thrown at each other, let alone what he had suggested even though he hadn't been serious. They would never let him live it down.

"Well, did you ever find out what Ami is sick with at least?" Quatre asked, still perturbed by the situation but not knowing why.

Heero nodded. "Heart surgery last year, she replaced a faulty valve and is having a lot of complications from the surgery."

Everyone nodded, having no proof to prove otherwise, and Heero exited the room indicating that the conversation was over.

* * *

The next morning, Ami was surprised to hear a knocking on her door as she finished getting dressed for work. She had been about to call for a cab and set the phone down, wondering what anyone would want at eight thirty.

Opening the door, she was further surprised to see Heero standing outside her door.

"Oh, good morning Heero," she said curiously.

"Morning. Did you call a cab?" He asked. She shook her head. "I was just about to."

"I thought we could carpool," he stated, "since we are going to the same place."

"Um....okay. It's nice of you to offer," she added, not sure why she was hesitant. She and Heero had seemingly cleared everything up, true with some white lies on her part, but she still felt odd around him and she knew why. She kept allowing herself to forget the small portion of the argument when they had made out. "I just want to grab my purse, come in."

He nodded, entering the apartment and shutting the door as Ami headed down the hall to her bedroom. He watched her go, everything she did since the previous day catching his eye. He had argued with himself on whether or not he should offer the carpool, but it was true that they lived right next to each other. Allowing her to take a cab wasn't right, and they were sort of friends, right? Well...maybe not friends. Not acquaintances either, nothing seemed like the right word.

Ami entered her room, taking a deep breath. Heero was obviously trying to be her friend, maybe he hadn't thought too much about the kiss like she had. Maybe he had moved on from the topic and she was still lingering on it......

She checked her outfit in the mirror one last time, it consisting of a royal blue short sleeved blouse and black skirt. She had on black pumps and a small silver clip was pinning her hair on one side today. She grabbed her purse, not wanting to keep him waiting and hurried into the hall, grabbing her house keys as well. The two stepped out and Ami locked the door, following Heero downstairs and to his car. He climbed in, Ami also doing so and feeling a bit more comfortable than the day before, although she was still on edge.

He started up the car, and pulled out, apparently always driving fast. Ami, not sick like the day before, felt like he was going fast but didn't feel unsafe at all. He had the radio playing low in the background, and she spoke.

"Heero, since we're carpooling and I don't have a car, can I pay you for your gas?"

He shook his head. Ami opened up her mouth to speak, and not finding any words she leaned back in her seat silently. Heero smirked from where he sat, turning his attention back to the road. They arrived at the office five minutes later, Heero pulling into the spot just as swiftly and smoothly as he drove.

Ami unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car, thanking him for the ride as the two headed inside and went upstairs.

The elevator opened, and the room was silent. Ami stared at where the four secretaries were clustered, chatting with Quatre and Duo at their desks. Trowa and Wufei were at the coffee machine. All were staring.

"Wow, I didn't know riding in elevators in pairs wasn't normal," Ami commented softly, Heero smirking.

The two exited, headed for the wonderful coffee machine. Everyone clustered at the desks inched behind them slowly, looking ready to pounce. Ami ignored them, pouring herself and Heero a mug first, before turning to face anyone. Heero stared at the pilots, tipping his head at them. What was up with everyone?

The secretaries were the first to act, grabbing Ami and excusing her as though she couldn't speak as she was dragged off back to the desks. After a thorough questioning, she assured them that she and Heero were merely neighbours and had opted for a carpool.

Stacey and Laura looked disappointed, Nina commenting that she wanted to for once witness an office romance involving the Gundam Pilots. Layanna nodded her head in agreement, Ami frowning at the four and thanking God that she was a good liar. Not that she and Heero were having any kind of a relationship. They had only kissed once- and that had practically been an accident, right?

Meanwhile at the coffee machine the others grilled Heero, them only being Duo and Quatre. Wufei and Trowa looked on somewhat interestedly but refused to comment.

"He-man, why would you offer to have a carpool with her if you didn't like her or at least think she was hot?" Duo questioned.

"It makes sense to have a carpool with your neighbour going to the same office," Heero stated. "She pays for a cab every day and we come and leave at the same time."

"Ah, so you do care that she is wasting her money on taxi cabs everyday," Quatre said, grappling at nothing at the moment and hoping that something would make sense. Heero raised a brow at him.

"No, I'm an environmentalist," Heero said flatly.

"Well hang on. Is Ami paying you for gas? If she is, then it's a carpool and you're not really doing her any favours," Duo said, knowing what the answer would be. Heero glared at him.

Duo chuckled. "You told her not to?" He asked, reading him like a book.

Ami shook off the girls, returning to the coffee machine to add milk to her coffee. The girls had dragged her away, and she refused to drink it black.

The pilots grew silent when she approached, Ami feeling all of their gazes on her as she quickly added milk to her coffee. She turned to look at all of them, and they all looked away. She raised a brow delicately, glancing at Heero who turned to meet her gaze. Ami didn't hold his gaze for long, hurrying away with her coffee and not glancing back.

Duo stared after Ami as she went, checking out her ass as per usual, before he caught Heero's eyes watching as well.

"Yes!" He shouted. Quatre threw his hand over Duo's mouth, but Duo fought him off, leaning in and whispering excitedly to everyone. "I was checking out Ami's ass and when I looked at Heero he was too!"

Heero fought an uncharacteristic groan, reminding himself to watch his roaming eyes when Duo was around. "So you do find her attractive at least," Duo was saying, "plus you two totally made eye contact right now and then tried to play it off!"

Heero left the obnoxious conversation and headed to get some work done, although he wasn't sure how he would. Everyone else dispersed, Wufei lecturing Duo even though he secretly agreed with everything he had said.

* * *

Ami paced around the office around five-thirty, waiting for Heero to get off so she could get home. This was the one bad part about a carpool: waiting. The floor was practically deserted, everyone having run away at five. She headed over to the window, staring outside. It was beautiful out. She groaned. The pilots had been called into a meeting a few minutes before five, being briefed for a mission. Heero had asked her to wait, but it seemed to be taking a long time as it had been more than half an hour.

The walk couldn't be more than twenty five minutes; it was only around a little over a five minute drive and beautiful out. Ami decided to just go. She quickly wrote a note for Heero and stuck it on the door of his office, knowing he would have to go there to get his keys anyways.

Grabbing her purse, she headed downstairs and waved goodbye to the security guard still remaining at the door. He smiled at her and she exited and walked across the parking lot and to the sidewalk, beginning to walk left. It was still very sunny out, the sun still high but lower than a couple of hours before. She debated entering a cafe on her way, but knew it would ruin her appetite and she had wanted to have a decent dinner for once.

A woman exited the store on her left, dragging her screaming child behind her. Ami winced, hoping that when she did one day have children they wouldn't behave like that. She turned her attention back to the road, jumping slightly when a voice cut through her thoughts.

"Excuse me, miss?"

She berated herself at being so jumpy, glancing up at the man who was speaking to her. He was tall, much taller than she was, with broad shoulders and a harmless smile on his face.

"I'm so sorry if I startled you. It's just that I'm a bit lost and I was hoping you would be able to give me some directions?"

"It's alright," Ami said. "I'm new in town though, but I might be able to help."

"My girlfriend asked me to meet her at a cafe called Magenta, but I haven't been able to find it and I was told it was on this street."

"Oh," Ami paused. "Well I did actually pass by a cafe five minutes walking from here, but I didn't catch the name on the sign."

"Thanks, that's great," he said, his green eyes glinting as he pushed his blonde hair out of his eyes. The man was attractive, that was for sure, but Ami wasn't moved as she smiled at him and stepped around him. The man looked like he wanted to say something else, but a couple exited the salon on their left and Ami had to avoid hitting into them, all three of them offering apologies and light chuckles as she continued down the street.

She walked down the sidewalk for another ten minutes, sure that she was at most five or ten minutes walking from her apartment. Her clip slipped from her hair, and she paused to pull it out, realizing that someone now stood in front of her and taking a step back.

The man she had given directions to only ten minutes before was in front of her. Last she had seen him, he had been walking down the street in the opposite direction. How had he even gotten here? She felt her stomach flip flop as an uneasy feeling began to spread through her. The part of the street she was on was practically deserted as she was now away from the downtown area and walking by the apartment complexes. She hoped that perhaps any residents were exiting their apartments, but it was around six and she was sure they were inside eating dinner or something as the street was empty.

His stance was casual, his hands tucked in the light brown jacket he had on. He also had on a pair of beige pants and a polo shirt beneath the jacket, his clothing totally casual as well as he had been walking the streets. He smiled at her, and she knew he knew that no one was around.

"You're the one," he stated, his voice much less friendly than it had been minutes before. Her heart thundered loudly in her chest. What was he talking about?

"The one?" She repeated, taking a step back and cursing her luck. The man stepped forwards just as quickly, and Ami froze in fear. If she screamed, that would only cause him to take action quicker and take her away, if he was indeed with the Dark Alliance. No, it was best to keep him talking for a minute, and she hoped she would be able to think.

"Yes, the missing Senshi. You're the one that was promised to me when they were done with you. I chose your file." Her file? Promised to him? When who was done with her, the Dark Alliance? What were they doing with her friends, and what was the plan when they were finished, to _give_ them to Dark Alliance agents? She was sick. Plus, his simple statement had just confirmed what she had thought, that the Dark Alliance had been watching them a while before capturing them because they had been captured untransformed. For God's sake, they had _files_ on each one of them.

"What have you all done with my friends?" She demanded, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. He ignored her question, infuriating and frightening her further as he spoke.

"Imagine my surprise when they captured all of the Senshi and I realized that the one I was promised after my leaders were done with you all was not among them. Naturally, I figured you would have to be searching for your friends. So I searched the other dimension for you. When I didn't find you, I figured you had come to this dimension."

"How did you know what city I was in?" She asked, trying to keep him talking until someone walked by although she was actually curious.

"I didn't until two days ago, when reports emerged about an unknown Sailor Senshi destroying one of our youma that attacked the park in this area. Naturally, the search for you moved here."

Ami cursed. Pluto had destroyed the youma that had recognized her, but they had still come after her because someone with powers had destroyed the youma.

"Our sources were wrong. They were sure you would have been in the city of our headquarters already."

"Where is that?" Ami questioned. He laughed, his green eyes twinkling as though she had told him a hilarious joke. His hand shot out of his pocket and grabbed a firm hold of her wrist before she could blink. "Well, you're about to see."

Ami struggled to pull her arm free, her eyes widening as she realized that the man hadn't moved an inch since he had grabbed her, looking amused again as she tried to pull free. It was like she was trying to pull free out of a steel hold on her, and while the term was used quite often Ami meant it quite literally. He was so strong that she wondered how easy it would be for him to crush her skull with one hit if he wanted to. Even transformed, she would be no match for him if he wasn't at a great distance from her, and this was without knowing how resilient, fast, or skilled he was in other areas of fighting.

"There's no point in trying. I'm supposed to bring you back without too many injuries so my superiors can do to you what they are the other Senshi, and to be honest I prefer that you not be too beat up for me until I get to you later." He spoke so calmly that he may as well have been discussing the weather, but his words sent chills up and down Ami's spine.

"What are they doing to them?" She asked again, her worry for her friends having doubled during their encounter. Her friends were clearly in more trouble than she had predicted.

He shook his head. "That is classified information. I can't just tell you things like that out on the street in the open." He was mocking her, but he continued. "Anyways like I said, you'll see soon enough."

At this, he dragged her into the alley by where they had been standing, silencing her cry by covering her mouth. Ami knew this was a good place to drag her into whatever portal he had come out of, her eyes widening as he didn't move to do so right away.

"Since I've had to go through the trouble of finding you, I think I deserve a preview of what's to come," he said. She shook her head, him allowing her to do so but not removing his grip.

"Well Mercury...or Ami, it's Ami isn't it? I think you don't have much of a choice in the matter. We've had these plans for over a year. I chose you over a year ago. My superiors promised all of us that you would be left alive for us when they were done you see, and I've searched for you because of that."

He continued to scare her, speaking in the same calm voice and yet not disclosing any information to her on what his "superiors" wanted with the Senshi. Denying himself no further, he spoke.

"I'm removing my hand from your mouth. Scream and I will kill you and tell everyone you weren't found."

He removed his hand, and Ami naturally didn't listen and screamed loudly.

The man growled, raising his other arm and punching her in the head. Ami blacked out a few seconds, coming to with a groan and realizing he hadn't put much effort into the hit at all despite what it had done to her. Seeing she was injured, he shrugged.

"Scream again, I dare you."

She was silent, her head swimming, and he smirked. "I thought so."

Before she could get her bearings and comprehend what was happening, his lips were on hers, bruising kisses being replaced with hungry ones as his tongue fought for access into her mouth. He shoved her roughly against the wall, her head hitting it, and once again got what he wanted as his tongue entered too, his hands roaming her body and making her sick.

One arm pinned her to the wall as his left hand raised her skirt, travelling up her thigh and grabbing at her roughly. She was positive that he was bruising her every where he grabbed her from how rough he was being, but he didn't seem to care as he continued to do so. He released her mouth, glancing down at her chest. Ami knew he would hit her but screamed loudly anyways, hoping anyone would hear and call the cops at least.

He didn't disappoint her, removing his hand from her thigh and punching her in her chest, knocking the wind right out of her. She grabbed at it dully, her eyes watering as she tried to regain her breath and scream again, unable to do so. Where was her purse? It contained her transformation wand....she knew it was a long shot to beat him alone with how strong he was, but....

He ignored her actions, trying to pull up her shirt as a couple of tears trailed down her cheeks, her hands which tried to stop him almost seeming nonexistent to him.

The sound of a gun being fired caused the man to stop his actions abruptly. He glanced down at his right arm, now bleeding, and towards the entrance of the alley. Heero stood, gun raised and looking livid as he glared at the man.

The man glowered at Heero, and Ami's heart began to pound faster as she spotted him and screamed suddenly. "Heero, run!"

Heero was taken aback by Ami's warning. He had just shot the man, and had the upper hand obviously. His eyes widened slightly as the man suddenly shoved Ami away and rushed at him at an inhumane speed. Heero had never seen anyone move so fast, not knowing where the man was until he was in front of him. Almost as if he had disappeared.

Ami screamed, the man's fist connecting with Heero's face and taking him out in one hit. The man was as strong as she had thought and she wondered if he had killed Heero with the hit.

The man turned his attention back to Ami, glaring.

"When my superiors let me have you again, you're going to pay for him shooting me. Trust me, you're not going to like it."

He grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her forwards with little effort despite the fact that Heero had shot him in the arm.

Another shot was fired, followed by another, and the man froze, giving a shout of rage as Heero shot him in the back twice. He spun around to face Heero, still on the ground but with his gun held out. He moved towards Heero again, but Heero shot at him in the chest twice, stopping him in the tracks. The man coughed up a bit of blood, screaming in rage.

"Stop goofing off Kaden," a cool voice interrupted. All three of them spun around to the darker part of the alley, where someone else had just appeared. Ami recognized the voice, her eyes widening.

"No."

"Yes," the man, now known to be Kaden spat out, turning to look at Ami. Mamoru stepped forwards, his hands in his pockets and a cold look on his face. He was dressed in jeans and a black zip up sweatshirt, not looking out of the ordinary but certainly acting like it.

"All of them?" Ami questioned Kaden, wondering if this was what he had meant when he had told her that his superiors wanted them first. Kaden laughed hoarsely, shaking his head.

"You wish. Just him, the others we have more plans for, and that includes you especially. Your friend Mamoru here let us in on something that we didn't know, and it makes you a bit more interesting than most of your friends, save for Usagi of course."

Ami stiffened, realizing he might be talking about her freezing the Earth- but how would that interest the Dark Alliance? She had no control over it....

"Since you're clearly wounded Kaden, I'll get Ami here back to headquarters," Mamoru was speaking to Kaden now, ignoring her. Kaden was hardly able to stand by himself, his breathing haggard as he had been shot five times.

Mamoru grabbed Ami by the wrist, dragging her forwards. From the corner of her eye, Ami saw Heero raise his gun and realized what he was going to do.

"Heero no!" The shot was fired at Mamoru's chest, Ami not having a second to think as she tried to shove Mamoru out of the way, the bullet hitting her in her upper arm. She cried out slightly, falling against the wall again and gripping her arm tightly. She had never been shot before.

"Ami," Heero said, disbelief shining through his normal monotone and wide eyed. He had just shot her- what was she doing? Why was she protecting that man?

Mamoru glanced down at Ami, his face tipped at her slightly.

"So you would still protect me."

"Yes, but not just for you. For Usagi and Rini," Ami said, not releasing her arm as blood seeped from the wound.

"They're dead to me," he said, staring at her calculatingly.

Ami met his gaze. "I know you don't mean that and I hope you realize soon."

Mamoru said nothing, stepping away from Ami and turning his attention to Kaden, who was crouched on the ground.

"I'll help you get your wounds taken care of. We know she's in the city, you'll get her," Mamoru said, shooting Heero a glare as he helped Kaden stand.

"I'll be back for you as well," Kaden warned Heero, disappearing with Mamoru. Heero's eyes widened at the men's departure. Were they from the Dark Alliance? What was Kaden made of? He had been shot five times and was hardly affected by it, plus when the man had punched him it had felt like someone had taken a large, heavy mallet and smashed him in the face with it. He knew his entire cheek and probably part of his eye would be bruised the next day. He felt his lip carefully, realizing it was split as well. Damn that was a good hit. Too good to be human. Plus Ami hadn't let him shoot the other man. Who was he and why had she risked her life to protect him?

He turned his attention to Ami, who was shakily trying to step away from the wall. He stood, approaching her and helping her stand. She instead wrapped her arms around him, shaking slightly.

"Thank you," her voice trembled slightly and he knew she'd had quite a scare so he hugged her back lightly, releasing her and using her uninjured arm to pull her from the alley.

"We're getting you to a hospital. We will talk later," he said. She said nothing

His car was on the street, his door still open from how quickly he had moved. Seeing her looking at the car, he explained.

"I was driving past and I heard a scream." Now that he was in the light, he could see that the side of her temple was already beginning to bruise from where the man had obviously hit her. Her collarbone was also turning purple, and he shook his head.

"We should hurry, you might have some head trauma too," he said. "Let me look at your arm."

She flinched slightly when he touched her arm, and he pried her other hand off to try and assess how bad it was.

He turned to glance down at her, frowning as her face became laden with guilt.

Ami could have kicked herself. Half of Heero's entire face would be bruised horribly tomorrow, plus he had a split lip.

He grabbed the first aid kit he had in the trunk, wrapping her arm with a cloth tightly to last for the ride to the hospital, only about ten minutes away.

"Get in, the hospital isn't far."

Ami complied, and Heero drove to the hospital quickly, parking by the emergency as he helped Ami inside. She was walking sort of aimlessly, and he lead her to the reception desk.

"Gunshot wound and possible head trauma," he said, ushering at Ami. A woman at the reception desk called for a nurse, asking Heero if the police had been called. He explained that he was a Preventer and that a report would be filed.

Ami stood next to him, her head beginning to spin. She could feel the blood trickling out of the quick wrapping Heero had done. She had taken a few hits to the head but she didn't think it was so....

The woman at the reception desk gasped and pointed, Heero turning and hardly catching Ami's unwounded arm before her head hit the ground again. The woman came around the reception desk and crouched next to them, reaching for Ami's pulse.

"Her pulse is okay, but she's out cold," she said to a nurse who approached with a stretcher. Heero picked Ami up off the ground and set her on the stretcher, watching as she was carted down the hall.

The woman at the reception desk stood and passed him a clipboard. "If you fill out all the paperwork I'll consider having someone take a look at your face," she said lightly, smirking.

"How generous of you," he replied dryly, taking the clipboard and getting to work. He had Ami's purse still, so he took her information from her driver's licence. It was unnecessary since she didn't have a car, but he paused and frowned. He held the ID up to the light.

No way.

It was fake. It hadn't been given out by the government. It _looked_ exactly the same, perhaps the best fake he had ever witnessed, but recent ID's from the last two years had a shiny reflective symbol for the Alliance on the top corner, and Ami's was lacking.

The ID even had her current address, at the apartment. She had moved in only a week and a half before, and the ID was dated that it had been given out the previous month. Ami had told him that moving into the apartment was spur of the moment, purchased the day of, thanks to his neighbours "family emergency." So how could Ami have known that she would be residing in the apartment three weeks prior to the date she heard about it?

For that matter, why was she attacked by that Dark Alliance man? He had clearly been in the wrong, trying to rape her, but he had continued to talk about taking her back to headquarters. He had also continuously mentioned his superiors wanting her first. What would the highest ranking members of the Dark Alliance want with Ami Mizuno? Also, why had she defended that other man? He had also been trying to take her to headquarters against her will. She had told the man that she had protected him for someone else, but the name had slipped Heero's mind.

How did the Dark Alliance always evade them using illogical and supernatural tricks? It was odd, but he had a feeling that Ami knew exactly what kind of powers the Dark Alliance possessed. After all, the man that had hit him today had not been normal. Ami had shouted for him of all people to run.

He looked for another ID in her wallet, but all she had was the driver's license. He didn't know her medical history or even her blood type. He stood, giving the woman the incomplete clipboard.

"I don't know anything more."

She nodded. "Let's get your face checked out."

* * *

Review!!!!


	5. Part 5

Part 5

Ami awoke with a groan, sitting up in her bed with her right arm, the only one she could move at the moment. A look at the clock on the opposite told her it was eight at night, meaning she had only been at the hospital a little over an hour. Her left arm was wrapped up and had a cloth sling on it, probably so she didn't move it too much. Her head was still pounding from where the man, Kaden, had hit her, but she was a bit more worried about what Heero had heard in the alley.

She wasn't too surprised when she looked in the corner of the room and noticed him sitting and watching her calculatingly. The man was so quiet that she hadn't even noticed him. She berated herself for not being sharp enough to catch on, her skills having dulled down a lot in the last few peaceful years.

"How's the arm?" he asked, using the question as more of an ice breaker as he had many tougher ones for her to answer.

"I don't know, I haven't tried moving it."

"I wouldn't." She nodded at his words, speaking.

"How's the face?"

"Hurts like hell actually." It was now apparent that Heero was bruised from right beneath his eyes, on his whole left cheek, and had a split lip which had been cleaned. "It's part of the reason I stayed to talk to you. The hospital is keeping you overnight, by the way."

She cursed her luck, having known Heero would question her. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his head, before opening them and giving her the same intense look that he always did, the one that made her stop breathing a few moments and put her in a stupor.

He decided to start from what he had learned first.

"Ami, I want to believe you, but you keep lying to me about everything." She blanched. How could he know that?

"I heard that man, Kaden, say that he was taking you back to headquarters, and that when his superiors were done with you and your friends, he would have you. Firstly, by your friends, he is referring to the ones you told me were missing?"

Well that was easy enough. Ami nodded energetically in response. He nodded as well, continuing.

"Why did they kidnap your friends to begin with?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out." This answer was truthful, he could tell, so he moved on.

"They're coming back for you now. Why? What would superior members of the Dark Alliance want with you and your friends, enough to come back for you?"

She was silent. He waited, knowing he wouldn't leave without answers. "I don't know why they are so interested in my friends and I, or why they felt it was necessary to come back for me."

That was a lie. Heero mentally noted that and moved on, his glare intensifying to show her that he had picked up on it. She bit her lip.

"Do you know anything about the Dark Alliance's powers or how they create those monsters?"

She sighed, but nodded. "A bit. I don't know any details about them, but I know the main idea."

"Which is?"

"Have you ever witnessed power like that of the Dark Alliance before?"

"No."

"Then I'm sorry to tell you this, but I don't think there's anything I can compare it to. There are just some people that are born having these powers. People or beings, that are different from humans."

The conversation was turning very sci-fi but Heero had to believe her because he had witnessed all of it. "People who are born strong enough to do this to my face, and appear in front of me before I see them move?"

She nodded. "Actually, that man, Kaden, was much stronger than that."

"How do you know?"

"I just knew. I'm sure you saw that he wasn't taking you seriously until you shot him four more times."

"You speak like someone with experience."

"Next question."

Heero growled slightly, but let it slide. They were in a hospital and a nurse had allowed him to stay beyond visiting hours. If he raised his voice they would kick him out and he would learn nothing.

"Who was that man that came at the end?"

"His name is Mamoru. He's a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yes, a good friend. He's my best friend's fiancé, actually."

"He works for the Dark Alliance. Was he that good a friend that you would take a bullet for him?"

"Yes."

"You would give your life?"

"I had to." Heero couldn't understand because Ami wouldn't tell him, but for Crystal Tokyo to happen, there had to be the King. Plus, what about Rini?

"You aimed to kill when you shot at him," Ami said suddenly.

"He was about to take you away. Excuse me for thinking he was as resilient as the man he was with. Anyways, if he's such a good friend why is he working for them and against you and your other friends, which include his fiancé?"

"He doesn't know what he's doing," Ami defended.

"What?" Heero questioned. "He's just a traitor."

"He's not," she insisted. "Groups like the Dark Alliance, they recruit people by force."

"Blackmail," Heero said with a nod.

"No," she retorted before she could stop herself, now having to explain as Heero raised a brow at her. "Not blackmail. When they want you to work for them, they take away your free will. They brainwash you and make sure you are not thinking for yourself. It is easy for them to recruit workers."

"Again, speaking from experience."

"Next question."

He nodded, getting used to the game now. "Do you know where their headquarters is?"

"No, I was trying to get it out of the man a few minutes before you showed up."

"Did he approach you?"

"Yes, he was asking for directions. Then he showed up in front of me ten minutes later when I got near the apartments," she explained.

"Did he say anything about why he specifically was pursuing you, it seemed personal."

She supposed telling him the next part would show him how confused she was as well. "He said he chose my file."

"Your file?" Heero repeated. Ami nodded her head.

"Yes, he said one year ago his superiors told the agents that they could choose a file, and he chose mine. I am clueless as to why they had files on my and my friends."

Heero pursed his lips. She was sincere but he had a feeling she was hiding something really big from him that would tie this all in together. He decided to go in for the kill.

"Why is your drivers licence a fake?"

She glared at him. "Excuse you?"

"I had to get it out for your paperwork. It's a fake, it's not government issued although it is excellently done."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she retorted, her voice indicating that she knew exactly what Heero was talking about. He smirked, standing.

"You know what else was interesting? It has your current address on it, the address of the apartment that you spontaneously moved into a week and a half ago. Now, I suppose you could have gone and requested the ID the same day you moved in. It probably could have arrived a couple of days ago by mail with your new address, right? That would be explainable and even then I wouldn't believe you, but here's the issue: it was issued about a month ago. How could you have know what your address would be a month ago, if my neighbors didn't put their house on the market until the day you purchased it, a week and a half ago?"

Ami's mouth sagged open slightly as Heero approached her bed, tipping his head at her. "Finally, I've caught you on something you can't deny. I don't brag like Duo, but I must admit Mizuno, this feels good."

"Is your name even Ami Mizuno?" He continued, frowning. "Are you someone else with a record with the Dark Alliance or something? Is that why you have a fake ID?"

Her mouth dropped lower, indignation covering her face. "Yes, my _real_ name is Ami Mizuno," she snapped. He nodded, totally calm, his eyes boring holes into hers as he turned to leave the room.

"We'll see. I confiscated your fake driver's license by the way, although I made you some photocopies in case you needed it for anything. Don't worry about your job for now, a fake ID isn't enough proof to have you fired. Anyways, I'm not at the office Monday, so I won't be there to monitor you. We have that mission I was being briefed about today...." he paused, turning to stare at her as he stood in the doorway. His eyes roamed over her angry features, before speaking just as calmly. "....have a good weekend."

Ami practically growled at his retreating form as he left the room, letting her head sink into her pillow. She couldn't believe she had made out with that ass the day before- was she mental or something?

She intended to have a nice relaxing weekend, and she was glad that suspicious Heero wouldn't be in the office on Monday. She was thrilled actually, because she was calling in sick and he wouldn't be there to question her absence.

She was calling in sick so she could go to Garderville, the city she had seen attacks in twice so far in the records. After what she had learned from Kaden today, she couldn't wait to find the base and find her friends. She didn't know what Kaden's superiors wanted with them, and definitely didn't want to know what the agents they had been promised to had in mind. The thought made her blood run cold, and brought up new feelings of dread for her friends much stronger than her previous worry. Now that Mamoru was on the other side she was even more worried.

She would go to Garderville and if the headquarters were there, she would find the Dark Alliance before they found her. All she needed was a decent wig and perhaps some colored contacts. Yes, that would be a good idea. The issue was how she would venture out of her apartment to get them. She supposed she could wear a hat and sunglasses just so she could run to the mall and get the items she needed. There was no need for a wig at work, since she was positive that what Pluto had said about the Dark Alliance not wanting to go near the Preventer's headquarters would hold up.

She was released from the hospital the next day, and quickly set to work that weekend on preparing to leave on Monday.

* * *

On Monday morning, she awoke early and got ready to leave on the train to Garderville at ten.

She had bought a brunette wig, medium brown, although she made sure that the wig had hair totally different from her own, longer reaching about mid back. The wig was natural hair, and she tried it on, pinning the hair up halfway like Minako usually did but with a small hair tie.

She also brought brown colored contact lenses, not wanting to have colored contacts that looked too bright and fake. She chose to wear a bit of makeup too: eye shadow, eye liner, and mascara, as well as a light blush and light colored lipstick. This was also for obvious reasons. When Ami was younger, she hadn't worn make up at all. For occasions now, Ami always wore make up, allowing the girls to do it for her. However on a day to day basis, she usually wore only a bit of mascara and a light blush, applying a nude lip balm when she left the house.

Wearing more makeup would throw off anyone who thought that they recognized her, and she angled her eye shadow like Minako had shown her once to even change the shape of her eyes a bit. For her clothing, she wore a pair of dark denim Capri pants and a three-quarter sleeved black cotton shirt, layered on top of a light pink camisole. She nodded. Also not her usual colour scheme, although she thought that she should wear it more often.

Slipping on a pair of black sandals, she was ready to go. Ami grabbed a different purse, putting everything she would need in it, and grabbed her train ticket. She took one last look at herself in the mirror. She was a new person. She was no longer even wearing a sling on her arm. It still hurt a lot, but thanks to her superior healing it was as if it had been healing a few weeks, not a few days.

She got into the awaiting taxi, headed for the train station. It was only a two hour train ride to Garderville, and she typed some coordinates in her minicomputer on the ride, preparing to thoroughly search the city.

* * *

Heero resisted reaching over and smacking Duo on the ride. His fellow pilots had all been surprised that early Monday morning when he had shown up at Quatre's house with half of his face bruised. The bruising under his eye had begun to heal a bit after the weekend, but his lip was still pretty bad and his cheek was a black and purple, showing how hard a hit it had been. The nurse tending to him had commented that it was a small miracle that his cheekbone hadn't shattered from how hard the hit had been. He had to agree with her.

"I will explain everything to you Duo, including how my face got like this, if you would just shut the hell up," he said lowly. Duo was quiet and nodded. Trowa glanced at him from the mirror as he was driving, and Quatre turned in the front seat to look. Wufei glared at Duo and turned his attention to Heero.

Half an hour later, after Duo had interrupted several times to ask questions, Heero was finished explaining everything. Everyone sat silently, debating.

"...but what could this all mean?" Quatre asked finally. "What does she want, working with us and having fake identification? Why are the people after her and her friends?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Heero said. "She says she doesn't know the exact reason, but she's hiding something. Something big, and whatever the Dark Alliance wants with her has everything to do with it."

"I still can't believe you shot Ami," Duo said, shaking his head. "Damn man, you could have killed her."

"I didn't shoot Ami," Heero corrected. "I shot the man that was trying to kidnap her; she threw herself in the way."

Wufei rolled his eyes, muttering "stupid onna." Heero knew it was all a front; Wufei could respect a woman taking a bullet for a friend rather than playing victim.

Trowa spoke up finally. "I'm sure Ami would have been interested to know that we were heading to Garderville on a mission today, you mentioned that the notes she wrote down about Dark Alliance attacks all happened in Garderville."

"That is exactly why I didn't tell her," Heero said. "It is Preventer's business to check on disturbances with the Dark Alliance, not the business of Ami Mizuno, if that's her real name."

* * *

Ami exited the train station in Garderville, left in its vast downtown area. She supposed it was time to get down to work. She pulled out her mini-computer, setting it to beep quietly anytime there was any negative energy around.

She put that away in the purse she had brought, not wanting any Dark Alliance members to spot the Mercury mini-computer if they indeed had so much information on her. The computer, as she had known before, would also pick up on her friends if she was within 100 feet of them, meaning that could only be used if she was physically within the headquarters.

She had picked up a tourist map for Garderville when she had first gotten off the train, and she sat at a bench and tried to sort out the possible areas of the headquarters. She had decided a few things on the train, them being first that the headquarters would probably be a large building. This enemy seemed extremely organized and they probably had more workers than Ami could count, so that would mean they would need to use an establishment that would have the excuse of having so many employees as a cover. That, and the establishment would probably have to seem restricted in some way, seem friendly but at the same time be clear that residents of the city couldn't just walk in when they pleased.

She pulled out a pen and divided the map of Garderville downtown into three areas: residential, recreational/commercial, and larger corporations. She crossed out residential immediately, doubting a base would be located in the center of the apartment complexes. She debated about the commercial areas, but crossed that section out as well. It had to be friendly but off-limits, meaning not commercial. This left the section of town where all of the large corporations and head-offices were located. It wasn't more than a twenty minute walk through the commercial area to get to that part of town, so Ami set off in that direction. If her computer made any indication while she walked through the commercial areas then she would check it out, but she doubted it would.

* * *

"Okay, so headquarters thinks that whatever city the base is located in, the Dark Alliance would be hiding under a big corporation. Good funding and a friendly face for the residents of the town, but still private," Quatre said, as the five sat in a coffee shop downtown. "We should just walk over, we're at the edge of this district and we all look inconspicuous."

They glanced down at their outfits, all casual jeans and t-shirts or polo shirts to try and look like lost tourists. Duo had even added a cap to his hair. Heero, because he had been seen by a Dark Alliance member, had been forced to also wear a cap to try and cover his face, particularly the bruises. A couple of them even had backpacks, although the backpacks were filled with weapons and not water bottles.

The group headed out of the diner, heading to the corporate area.

Ami walked past several big buildings with large slogans, all busy with several people in expensive suits milling in and out. It was a busy town, perfect for Dark Alliance headquarters because everyone was just too busy to pay attention.

Her computer started to beep slightly when she reached a crossing between four large buildings. Ami frowned. There were four blocks, all joining in this one spot. She stood on the edge of one of the four corners of the sidewalks, watching cars stop at the four-way stop signs and pass through carelessly. She had goose bumps just being in the area, and when she peaked at her computer in her purse, opening it up inside, she was unsurprised to see that it was picking up negative energy from all four of the monstrous buildings towering above her.

Ami backed away from the four way crossing, going to stand besides the cell phone company's headquarters as she tried to check out the four buildings from a hundred yard distance, feeling safer.

All four buildings had the same logo on top, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud when she read the words next to it. "Garderville Security."

Unbelievable. The Dark Alliance was hiding under the cover of a security agency. The thought that Dark Alliance members were being deployed by the hundreds to different locations across thousands of miles, under the rouse of protecting people no less, made her sick. It was just perfect. Who would question how trustworthy a security agency was, or question why they couldn't go inside? Who would wonder why the security agency needed four buildings? The rouse for that would be that a few of the buildings were necessary for the training of their many employees. Who would even argue with the agents standing at the doors, glaring at people, or the people in uniform exiting the building? Security. That was what everyone would want and no one would mess with them. As Ami stared at the building, she realized that the security agency must be legit. They probably had all the proper licensing and paid rent regularly, and since they obviously deployed their agents regularly who would suspect such a horrible group to be housed beneath the rouse?

Now that she had located headquarters, she was left with a lot of work to do. There were four buildings. She needed to know what was in each one, and she didn't think that Pluto would like her charging the building alone. There were a lot of risks, and she in fact probably wouldn't make it past the front door before she was caught. No, it would be like she was generously handing herself over. She needed to plan and she needed Pluto with her. For today, it would be best to stay hidden and see if her computer could scan the buildings and record all entrances and exits. It would store it and she could look back and analyze the date later.

She needed a reason to be here. Perhaps it was best to stay by the cell phone company for now, as she was at a safe distance. She entered the cell phone corporation and asked the woman for a brochure. The woman gave it to her and Ami headed back outside, sitting on a bench by the large glass doors of the cell company and opening the brochure wide, pretending to be immersed in it. In her lap she tucked her mini-computer, hiding it and what it was scanning with the brochure. Next to her she kept her purse close, still partially slung on her arm should she need to run or transform.

The computer began the process of scanning the first building and Ami gave a detesting sigh, knowing it would take a while but also knowing how vital it was for her friends. She could only hope they were alright. She owed everything to them and she refused to fail in her one chance to save them.

* * *

The pilots were taking their second walk through the area. No one building had stuck out to them as possibly hosting the Dark Alliance. According to their records, all had perfect licensing and had never caused suspicion.

"This is pointless, I'm getting hungry again," Duo quipped, staring around the area they were in. "There's nothing to eat here, the only building that even let's you inside is the cell phone one."

"Maybe there's a cafe or something on the bottom floor for their employees," Quatre suggested. "Most of these buildings have these accommodations."

"Good idea," Duo agreed energetically, dragging Quatre across the street while the others followed at an even pace.

Heero had to admit he was feeling a bit defeated. The issue was that he and the pilots couldn't possibly find the base unless they were allowed inside. He glanced at the cluster of tall buildings to his left. The Garderville Security agency was well known and deployed their agents to every city around constantly. It couldn't possibly be them.

Duo and Quatre were stopped at the door, Duo entering and asking the receptionist if they had a cafe.

Quatre looked to the right, where a pretty brunette sat at a bench, seemingly totally engrossed in the pamphlet on the cell phone company.

Ami meanwhile ducked her face, unable to believe her twisted luck. The pilots were sent on a mission here? Heero had purposely not told her where he was going. From the corner of her eye, she saw Duo enter the place, wearing casual clothes and a cap. By the door, Quatre was peering at her. He had on a backpack too. Smart, Ami had to admit. They were dressed like tourists.

Heero, Wufei, and Trowa crossed the streets behind the others. She could see although she tried not to look, that Heero's bruised face was hidden beneath a cap, and he ducked his head ever so slightly as he walked.

The others came to stand by Quatre, but he was staring at a brunette on a bench outside the cell phone company. Wufei pinched Quatre in the arm lightly, raising a brow at him to indicate at his staring. Quatre offered an embarrassed shrug, but didn't say out loud that something was familiar about the brunette. Trowa tipped his head at Quatre. Quatre wasn't the type to creepily stare at random women in the street. Heero turned his attention to the woman, studying her carefully.

Ami was practically counting down seconds in her head, wishing they would just go away. Her disguise wasn't good enough to conceal her from anyone who knew her well, and despite the change in hair and eyes and the makeup on her face, she still felt exposed.

A couple of men from the "security" agency came down the sidewalk they were on, in uniform and probably heading to lunch in the downtown area. Ami lowered her head more, focusing her eyes on the pamphlet in front of her. One of the men gave her a slight passing glance, but noticing the other tourists next to her, he kept walking.

Ami exhaled slightly, not willing to look up from the paper until the men in uniforms were far away. She could feel the power radiating off of them and thanked God that she had been scanning the building or else her computer would have begun to beep from their negative energy.

Heero's eyes narrowed suddenly, coming to realize something as he stared at the woman's face, just as Duo was returning from inside. He opened up the door only slightly, speaking.

"Hey, there's no cafe, it's being renovated," he said disappointedly, frowning as he noticed the pissed expression on Heero's face. He stepped fully outside the door, shutting it.

"Heero buddy, what's with you?"

Heero's hand shot out and grabbed Ami's wrist before she could blink. Duo gasped. "Heero don't touch people," he lectured as though Heero was a five year old.

He didn't release her wrist, forcing her to lower the pamphlet from her face. Everyone gaped. Brown hair and eyes and heavier makeup, but it was Ami. She made no movement, staring back at Heero with an equally intense glare on her face before she tore her wrist from his grip.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He questioned angrily.

"What do you think?" She seethed back, the man bringing out the worst in her.

Everyone remained deathly silent. Another few security agents passed them and Ami lowered her gaze, the men again glancing at the tourists and heading back to the downtown area.

Ami didn't dare breathe until the agents passed. Her computer gave a slight beep, and she glanced down at it. Heero reached out and grabbed it before she could.

He stared at the screen. "Why are you scanning those buildings?"

"Isn't it obvious," she said, glaring. "Give that back to me. If anyone sees it we're dead."

He raised a brow. Why would anyone recognize her computer? It was plain enough, the only thing unique about it being the Mercury symbol on it, but that could have just been a sticker for all anyone knew. It was irrelevant.

Ami stood, tossing the pamphlet aside and keeping a firm grip on her bag. A couple of more agents exited the buildings on their right, and she spoke carefully and quietly, seeing that one of them had familiar blonde hair.

"Give me the computer. Close it and put it in my bag and walk in the other direction."

"You think they're in the security agency?" Quatre whispered suddenly, realization dawning on his face. Wufei scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.

Heero pursed his lips, deciding if he should listen to her. Finally, he snapped the mini-computer closed and placed it in her hand. She moved to put it away just as quickly, but a voice cut through their silence just as she dropped it into her purse.

"Is that the Mercury computer?"

The group all turned to stare at a security agent with dark hair and brown eyes. He stared at the group carefully, not spotting the person he was told possessed the computer.

Another agent came to stand next to him. "You must have had it wrong," he seethed. "According to our file, she has blue hair and blue eyes."

The group held their breath, all wondering why the hell the agents would know what kind of a computer Ami carried.

"I guess you're right," the first agent said, the two turning and approaching the blonde agent Ami had spotted earlier. She cursed her luck. It was Kaden. There was at least fifty yards between him and her but with his speed that probably meant nothing. To make matters worse, the cell building was nearest to the security agency but far from the other companies, the area deserted save for the receptionist inside the cell phone company, everyone else on the upper levels.

"We have to get out of here, especially you Heero," Ami said very softly. Everyone was still just trying to keep up. "He's going to kill you Heero, I can guarantee it."

"We have guns onna, I know Yuy said they were strong but give me a break," Wufei said. Kaden suddenly looked up, meeting her eyes from where he stood, even at the great distance. He gave a smug smile, Ami realizing she had been recognized. He was almost healed it seemed, although he was perhaps walking with a bit of a limp.

"Welcome," Kaden called. "I guess you decided to give up after all. How nice of you to come to me and spare me the trouble. Perhaps I won't be as rough with you as I previously intended."

Ami's eyes hardened at his disgusting talk. "Don't hold your breath," she called back sweetly. Kaden smirked at the challenge.

She sighed, speaking one last time to the pilots but knowing the answer. She couldn't be left defenseless and if they didn't leave her secret was about to be exposed. "You're not going to run?"

Heero's eyes hardened. What was wrong with her? "No."

She nodded. Reaching for her wig, she easily pulled it off, running her hands through her blue locks. Her hand was clamped around her transformation wand in her purse and she set the purse on the bench, pulling out the wand.

The five men stared at her like she was crazy.

"I hope that pen thing is more dangerous than it looks," Duo muttered from behind her, Trowa reaching into Quatre's back pack where they all had their guns.

She nodded calmly. "Not to worry Duo, I just hope I haven't lost my touch."

"Huh?" Duo said, his frown deepening as she threw the pen into the air and shouted.

"Mercury crystal power!"

A blinding light exploded from the tip of the pen, and they covered their eyes, before water shot from the tip of the pen and fully surrounded Ami. They all gasped, another blinding light following before Ami stood in a different outfit.

"What the hell?" Duo asked staggering back a step in shock.

"Are you going to run," Mercury turned to look at them, her voice demanding.

"Hell no onna, I don't know what the hell you just did but we're not running," Wufei said, preparing his katana. The other had their weapons ready, and Mercury turned, seeing that Kaden was prepared. He didn't pull out a gun, and only one of the other men with him had a weapon. The other was probably gifted like Kaden.

She wouldn't let them get the upper hand. They had to attack the three and get the hell out of the area before reinforcements were called.

"When they are down a little we have to get out of here," she told the others. "There are way too many men inside, and they'll come out soon."

"Don't tell me what to do Ami," Heero retorted.

Mercury sighed, her patience with Heero withering quickly. "It's Mercury in this form," she stated back just as coldly. She opened up her visor, not needing her mini-computer as readings immediately flashed across the screen. The two men with Kaden stood behind him, Kaden clearly their superior. She noticed that Kaden had yet to call for backup. Was it ego?

Kaden suddenly put a foot in front of the other, and she knew he had assessed her and was ready to move. She wouldn't allow it. He had bested her the other day and assaulted her and she refused to let it happen today.

From the readings on her computer, she also probably couldn't destroy him, but she could delay him.

Kaden smirked, thinking she was ready to attack him head on.

"Go ahead, try me," he called, not prepared to give her the chance. Without wasting another second, she placed her hands in front of her.

"You're not going to be able to see. Don't move from your spots," she warned.

The group exchanged glances. Her fancy outfit, despite how appealing it was to the eyes, had made her more commanding and Heero didn't like it. That was why he was more than surprised when a small glow began to emit from her hands.

"Mercury Bubbles, blast!"

The group staggered backwards as a mist surrounded the entire area, making them completely unable to see. Kaden cursed from where he stood with his men. He had heard of this power and hadn't taken it seriously, he couldn't see a thing.

Heero felt Duo grab his shoulder from behind him.

"What the hell just happened?" Duo asked. They made out the shadowy figure of Mercury approaching them.

"We have to get out of here," they heard her say. "We can't win, not today."

"Try and run," Kaden's voice taunted. "The mist will wear off soon and I will pursue you."

Mercury turned. She'd have to delay even more if the group was to make a good run for it.

She turned to face Kaden, who was standing about thirty yards away and unable to see her. Good thing she could see him perfectly.

The mist was beginning to fade where they stood and the pilots could see Mercury in front of them, hands outstretched as she prepared another attack. The pilots couldn't help but shiver slightly. The mist had been cold but they felt even colder.

Icy droplets of water began to surround Mercury, spinning around her quicker and perhaps being the most devastatingly beautiful thing they had seen from her yet before she released it.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

The wave of ice water was released at Kaden and the other two men, Mercury pouring far more of her energy into it than usual to make sure it held them for a while.

The sound of the three men's anguished screams followed, even Wufei wincing. The last of the mist began to clear as they could see the three bodies of the men, all frozen in a thick layer of ice. Duo gaped.

"Holy shit."

Mercury grabbed her bag off of the bench, moving down the street.

"We have to run, it won't take them long to break free of that and they'll easily catch us."

She took off down the street, the group wordlessly following as Heero knew how strong Kaden was from the previous day. The man had been shot five times and he was walking like nothing had happened today.

They ran as far as their legs would carry them, straight out of the corporate area and into the downtown commercial area.

Mercury de-transformed, everyone covering their eyes as they ducked deep into an alley, panting heavily.

"They'll come looking for us, they'll search the entire city." She panted.

"Dude Ami, I can't believe you just did that," Duo breathed. "I loved the outfit." Ami resisted rolling her eyes, too busy trying to catch her breath. Even winded Duo was still flirting.

"We need to get a hotel room and fast, to regroup and discuss what the hell just happened," Trowa said, breathing heavily. The man rarely spoke but she was sure he was stunned.

"There are several hotels in town. The Dark Alliance won't possibly be able to search them, and they can't risk blowing their cover. Let's go," Quatre said. Ami slipped her wig on her head and allowed Duo to put his cap on the brown wig. Duo knew she was clearly a marked woman.

* * *

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	6. Part 6

Part 6

They moved to the five star hotel nearby, knowing how strict it would be with confidentiality. Quatre got the room and they quickly filed upstairs and into the large suite, knowing they would have to leave at night. Ami had heard that Quatre was wealthy but she couldn't help but be stunned at how gorgeous the room was as she entered. It was more like a large apartment, even though they would merely be a few hours.

Wufei was the last person to enter the room, closing and locking the door with the extra lock after checking the hall to make sure they hadn't been followed. Trowa and Quatre rushed to the windows, quickly closing each and every blind in the room.

Duo switched on the lights in the room to make up for the light that had been lost by closing the blinds. Annoyed by her wig, Ami pulled it off of her head, smoothing her hair. She also pulled out her contacts, meeting their eyes with the pools of blue they were used to seeing.

Every sat stiffly in the room, trying to calm themselves, before Heero broke the short silence.

"You have about three seconds to explain."

She nodded. "I know. I apologize for lying to you all those times Heero, but I'm afraid that what you all just witnessed was privileged information."

"You should have told me. I caught you so many times. It would have made both our lives easier."

She shook her head. "I'm not allowed to tell anyone. Anyways, I'm sure that during the war your identities as Gundam Pilots were equally well kept secrets."

No one could argue with that, so she continued. "I should firstly begin by saying Heero, that my fake identification had nothing to with a name change. My name is Ami Mizuno. I needed ID because I'm not from here...." she hesitated.

"What onna? Your ID had the new house you were at. Did you need a change of address immediately?" Wufei asked.

"That would be the easier explanation," she commented, but continued. "I guess it's best to be blunt. I'm from a different dimension."

Everyone stared at her like she had grown a second head, so she continued. "I know it's hard to believe, but I think that in light of recent things you've witnessed, you should let me explain."

Heero nodded for her to continue.

"Our dimensions are parallel with one another. People exist within them thinking that they are alone, when in reality the streams run side by side together. You are however, ahead in years and more technologically advanced than in my world. I do reside on Earth, if you're confused, just like you. I'm from Tokyo, Japan. Well, now. My being from Tokyo really doesn't help explain what you just saw, so I'm about to backtrack into a story that you will find even more ridiculous."

Duo nodded energetically, and she smiled and continued again.

"Well, in the world I am residing in now, I was born twenty three years ago. However, that was a rebirth. In reality, I was first born over a thousand years prior to that."

Quatre's jaw dropped. "That's not possible."

She continued, trying to help him understand. "A thousand years ago, I resided on the planet Mercury. I was next in line for the throne and I was one of the chosen warriors of my planet, Sailor Mercury. My friends, who have been taken hostage by the Dark Alliance, were also princesses on their planets and also warriors, on: Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and the Moon. Pluto was also a princess, but she wasn't taken hostage. I will explain that later. Anyways, all of these planets and the Moon made up what was called the Silver Alliance. The Earth also had a prince, and the Earth was in the workings of becoming part of the Silver Alliance. The prince of Earth Heero already saw. Do you remember Mamoru?"

He nodded, but spoke. "Thos planets you mentioned are inhabitable."

"Not then they weren't, anyways you all have been living on colonies for a while now," she pointed out, continuing. "Well, we princesses of the inner planets of the solar system were sent to the Moon to become part of the Princess of the Moon's court. She was currently betrothed to the Prince of the Earth, Mamoru, or then he was known as Endymion. Then we had trouble come our way. There was an evil woman named Beryl, who we later found out was receiving power from a being called Chaos. She wanted to dominate the Silver Alliance and was in love with the Prince of Earth. She created her dark army, the army of the Negaverse, and destroyed every planet until she reached the Moon. The Prince of Earth had four generals that we had all come to know as well, and the generals turned to Beryl's side. Beryl's armies dominated the Moon was well. Me and the other three princesses of the inner planets were betrayed and killed by the generals. Then Beryl killed the Prince of Earth. The Princess of the Moon, Serenity, who we now know as Usagi, killed herself when Beryl killed Endymion. Serenity's mother, the Queen of the Moon, was heartbroken. She had a weapon of power so great that Beryl would do anything to get it, and it is called the Imperial Silver Crystal. So the Queen, with the last of her strength, used the crystal to send her daughter and her daughter's court to be reborn on Earth, a thousand years into the future. Unfortunately, this also sent Beryl and all of her minions into the future with us as well. When the Princess of the Moon was fourteen years old, a normal junior high student in Tokyo, she was discovered by her cat guardian from the silver millennium. One by one, every one of the warriors from the silver millennium were discovered. Beryl was attacking Earth again, sending out monsters to steal people's energy to gather it for her plans to dominate, and we fought them off."

"Like the Dark Alliance does today," Trowa commented suddenly.

Ami nodded. "Exactly."

"So Beryl is running the Dark Alliance?" Quatre asked. Ami shook her head.

"No, we destroyed Beryl nine years ago. We destroyed several enemies after Beryl. You see, the evil that Beryl was taking her power from, Chaos, was basically a manifestation of all of the evil in the world and the evil in the heart of man. We only learned years later, after defeating our very last enemy, Galaxia, that Chaos had always been the one behind every evil being we faced. Sailor Moon, my friend Usagi, she destroyed Chaos the last time we fought with the silver crystal. However, this new enemy that kidnapped my friends we had no idea about, because we weren't supposed to face anyone else until we form the city of Crystal Tokyo."

"Woah, what's Crystal Tokyo?" Duo asked.

"Oh, it's the Kingdom we are going to create on Earth. You see, my friend Usagi is going to be Neo-Queen, and Mamoru, the Prince of Earth, will be the King."

"You're taking over the free world?" Heero questioned.

She shook her head. "No, the Earth must freeze over for several millennia, everyone on it going into a deep sleep. When the time is right, the Neo-Queen of the world, Usagi, will bring the world to life again, and unite everyone under one nation. All of the Earth's wars and previous problems will no longer exist under her ruling. We the Senshi will remain her loyal guard and protect the royal family and the Earth. I'm sure you all think that's optimistic, but we've actually been to our future and know exactly what is to come."

"That's not possible," Heero contradicted.

"It is. That last Senshi I told you about, Pluto, is actually the guardian of the gates of time. She is the one who transported me to this world and got me set up in my apartment in a mere hour. Usagi and Mamoru are going to have a girl, named Rini. When we were fifteen, she came back to visit from the future because an enemy called the Black Moon had attacked and had totally taken over. She needed help and had been in search of her mother's past self so that she could use the crystal to save the future. We travelled to the future to fight and restored it to normal, and Rini still visits us regularly."

Everyone merely stared at her, the information of the last fifteen minutes almost too much to take.

"Anyways, back to the present. My friends and I were attacked, untransformed and unsuspecting, two weeks ago. We were at one of the Senshi's apartments, simply hanging out together. The Dark Alliance attacked us and captured all of my friends, bringing them to this dimension where they had their headquarters located. I have no idea why they wanted my friends and didn't just kill us if they thought us to be a threat. Also, they only turned Mamoru to their side, no one else, so I really can't tell you what they want. All I know is that if they turned Mamoru, he didn't possess something that the rest of us do."

"Why weren't you taken?" Trowa asked, raising a brow.

"Sheer luck. Sailor Pluto figured out what was happening and came to help. Most of my friends had already been carried out and I was one of the last. She destroyed the straggling youma there to take me, but could do nothing about the ones who had been taken. I honestly wish she had been able to save Usagi, not me."

"Why? You should be thankful," Heero said. "You got off lucky."

"I don't believe so. Usagi's safety was far more important than my own."

"That's not exactly a healthy way to look at things Ames," Duo said, scratching his head. She shook her head.

"Duo, Usagi is the possessor of the Silver Crystal, the most powerful weapon to ever be seen. It feeds off of its user, Usagi, but can defeat the worse of enemies if she is strong and we can help her. She is the most important Senshi that exists. Also, she is the only one who can step up to the throne and create Crystal Tokyo. It is her birthright and destiny. Mine is to be her dutiful and loyal defender. That is why it so important to save my friends. You all have weapons but trust me when I tell you this: you will never be able to defeat the Dark Alliance. You all saw Kaden, and how strong he is. He was higher in rank than the men with him, but there are many more Dark Alliance workers that are as strong as Kaden, and Kaden gets his power from someone who is horrendously stronger than he. I believe that they are the toughest enemy we have faced yet just from observing their lowest workers, like Kaden. We Senshi all died last time we fought our enemy Galaxia, and I do not believe she possessed the power that they do. You all need Sailor Moon and her crystal to save your Earth and colonies right now. If she and the others are not rescued soon, we are all done for."

Everyone listened to what she was saying, the urgency of what this meant for their finally peaceful Earth and colonies setting in.

"Wait, you died?" Quatre questioned. She nodded.

"We've died a few times since we were reborn on Earth. If we die trying to defend our princess, she can gather the strength she needs to beat the enemy, and can bring us back. I don't know how the crystal does it, but she can. Sailor Moon being captured is also dangerous because the crystal, in evil hands, can lead to catastrophic results."

She paused, feeling sick from what was going to be an attack, and grabbed a wad of tissues from the table next to her. Heero watched her.

"I shot you in that arm. How are you moving it?"

"I don't heal the same as you." She moved her arm again, wincing slightly. "It stings but it will probably be fully healed in another day or two." Another jaw dropper, and she could fully understand. She had been shocked when learning all of this news, and she had learned it all slowly, not in twenty minutes.

"How did those men recognize your computer?" Heero questioned, just remembering what he had been wondering.

"Ah, well apparently the Dark Alliance had extensive files on my friends and I. I knew they would recognize the computer, which is why I didn't want you waving it around like that."

"What were you doing with it?" Wufei asked. She reached into her bag, opening it and pulling up her records.

"I was having it scan the buildings so I could know where every entrance or possible exit was. It did three of the four buildings before you four showed up and ruined everything," she joked lightly, tossing Wufei the computer. He was intrigued, he and Trowa going through the information.

She was starting to really feel sick. She wondered if they would mind if she slept a while. This attack was going to be a bad one and she knew they weren't planning on leaving until late at night anyways.

She coughed into the tissues, tucking her feet beneath her on the bed and leaning against the headboard as she tried to control herself, not liking to have these attacks in front of other people. Duo stood, wanting to help but not knowing how.

Heero chanced asking the one last thing that had been bothering him, earning Quatre's attention.

"Are you really sick from complications from heart surgery?"

Ami shook her head between her coughs, pausing and clearing her throat. "Remember how I told you the Earth is going to freeze over?"

Quatre, Duo, and Heero nodded. "That's supposed to occur in a year on Earth in my dimension...and I'm the one who's supposed to do it." She paused again to cough more blood into more tissues.

Trowa and Wufei looked up, slowly going back to the readings on the computer.

"A-Ami," Duo stuttered, "I didn't know you were that strong!"

"I'm not," she confessed. "At least, not usually. It's destiny that I freeze the Earth, however as you can imagine this takes an incredibly huge amount of power. My body is slowly accumulating this power. The power cannot be used or channelled now, it won't help me in battle in any way. However it continues to build a little at a time, day by day. The issue is that the power is too much on my body, so every time I gain a bit of power, once or even sometimes twice a day, I tend to have a reaction. This could mean I will pass out, or have one of the attacks I am sure I'm about to have since I'm beginning to cough up some blood, or just experience severe pain. This is still better for my body than accumulating all of the power at once, because that would probably kill me. So there's really no medical cure for what happens to me, which is why I always refuse a hospital...." She turned to cough into the tissue once more, adding lightly "....I'm really glad the attack waited until we got in the hotel room; that would have been bad."

Heero nodded, the true explanation much more complicated than what he had thought. Still, now that they knew everything about Ami, he was fully prepared to trust her. He couldn't take back every time he'd given her a hard time but.....his eyes hardened. His thoughts had been moving towards wanting to grow closer to her, and he had to stop himself. She had just said she was from a different dimension, a dimension she had duties to. Even if everything turned out okay and they all survived, she would have to leave.

Heero suddenly turned to look at her. She had stopped coughing, but her body was shaking and her hands continued to grip her stomach like he had seen her do so many times before. Quatre and Duo were trying to help her lay down, and he heard them telling her to just try and sleep until it wore off.

The three moved into the second room of the suite, more like a living room, and Trowa and Wufei followed.

Duo shut the door slightly so Ami could get to sleep, but left it a crack open in case anything happened. He was thrilled that Ami wasn't evil. Wufei and Heero had been making him feel bad about being her friend.

Wufei and Trowa passed the other three men the mini-computer.

"What it picked up from those three buildings is unbelievable. The technology of this computer is as advanced as ours, perhaps beyond. The three buildings she managed to scan are all mapped out for us, with every exit and entrance," Trowa said, impressed.

The other three looked the data over, also impressed. Heero was a bit shocked at how poor his intuition had been. He had disregarded the security buildings and Ami had picked up on it.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Ami freshened up and exited the room she had been sleeping in. She felt a lot better than she had before, and pushed at the door to the sitting room lightly, wondering if they had fallen asleep in there.

They hadn't. Now that the door was open, she could see that Wufei and Duo were trying to quietly fight over her mini-computer, Quatre trying to calm them down and shush them while Heero and Trowa smirked at the two.

Seeing Ami standing in the doorway, Duo released the mini-computer and hugged her happily. "Ami I'm glad you're up! I was bored!"

She laughed lightly, hugging him back and entering to sit at the table the other two were sitting at.

"When are we leaving?" She asked, Quatre coming to sit and speaking.

"Not for another few hours, we want to leave after dark and still make it back to be able to get to work in the morning. I assume you considered Preventers headquarters safe because the Dark Alliance wouldn't have wanted anything to do with it?"

She nodded at him. "Yes, actually."

Heero was watching her, still silent, and it made Ami uncomfortable so she turned her attention to Trowa.

"We have some reports to file when we get back. Are we going to try to lead a full fledged Preventers investigation?"

Wufei joined the conversation now. "We have to."

"You have to wait on the attack," Ami said, shaking her head. "If you want to help free hostages, and mind you I don't know if any civilians that are missing are alive or just recruited to work for them, that's different- but we can't take them down unless we have help from the other Senshi."

"I understand your friends are powerful," Quatre interjected. "But....and I hate to ask this, are you sure they're alive still?"

She nodded, totally confident in her answer. "I would know. I can't explain to you how, but I know they're alive."

"Okay, when we get back to work tomorrow, you will work with us....and maybe call that other woman," Heero paused in thought. "Pluto? She's the woman from the park, Setsuna, right?"

Ami nodded.

"Okay, when we get back tomorrow we have to make plans on how to free your friends."

"I don't know if Sets can leave the gates of time, but I will ask," Ami said. "I can ask her now."

She went to go grab her beg, returning with it and pulling out her communicator. She pushed a small button on the screen, pausing a moment when she heard Setsuna, or rather Pluto's voice on the other end.

"Ami, how are you doing?"

"Okay, but I'm sure you already know that," Ami said, her smile widening a bit as Pluto chuckled.

"So are the Pilots in the room right now?" Pluto asked. All of the Pilots eyes widened.

"How does she know that?" Duo asked worriedly.

"Pluto is the guardian of the gates of time," Ami reminded, turning back to her conversation. "So since you know what's going on, can you come to the Preventers office to talk tomorrow?"

"I can only leave the gates for a short while, perhaps later in the day, around four?"

"Okay," Ami said. Even if they needed more than an hour in the office with Setsuna, they could stay later and start planning before she got there. Anyways, it was probably best to keep up appearances at the office, meaning more useless filing even though Ami already got what she needed.

"I will see you all then. Take care leaving everyone," she added, the line cutting into static.

Ami pursed her lips as she set down her communicator. They would have to be careful.

* * *

At around one that night, Wufei and Trowa left the room to walk the three blocks to where they had parked the van they had come in that morning. Heero kept watch out the window until he saw the van pull up.

Quatre was already in the lobby checking out, and he climbed into the van as well. Ami, Duo, and Heero were the last to descend from upstairs, she and Heero both wearing hats pulled low over their faces.

Ami quickly clambered into the back of the van, Duo and Heero following. Wufei and Trowa were up front, Quatre and Duo sitting in the middle. When she got in, the only seat left was the seat next to her for Heero, as if things weren't awkward enough.

Wufei was driving this time, and he pulled out quickly and moved towards the highway exits, wanting to put a lot of ground between them and Garderville.

Ami leaned her head against the window, turning away from Heero and his calculating stare as she tried to get to sleep. Seeing Ami turn away, Heero smirked to himself. He knew she hated when he stared but he couldn't help but watch her, whether it used to be out of constant suspicion or intrigue.

They arrived two hours later at Quatre's house, everyone getting into their own cars to head to their own homes. The others all waved and climbed out of the car, Heero turning to look at Ami, who was sleeping still.

He wondered if she would wake up if he simply carried her to the car, but when he touched her arm lightly she jumped, apologizing quietly, sleep still in her voice as she began to shift.

"Sorry, are we here?"

"Quatre's place, I left my car here earlier." He climbed out, Ami following as he pulled out his keys and unlocked his car. Sleepily she followed, climbing in the car as she tried to wake up slightly, figuring she'd get to sleep when she got home.

Ami buckled up, the car starting up with a quiet hum as her head lolled back onto the seat tiredly. She was totally exhausted even though she had napped a couple of hours at the hotel, but she figured it might still be her body recovering from the slight rise in power from that afternoon. Even if she recovered quickly it usually took its toll.

Heero waved at Quatre, who stood at his porch, as they were the last to take off. He quickly pulled out of the driveway, heading home. It had been a long day. He glanced down at Ami, who was totally out of it although it was clear that she was trying to stay awake. Forcing his eyes back to the road, they were home in fifteen minutes. He pulled into a parking space outside the building, Ami jarred awake by the car coming to a stop. She unbuckled her seatbelt, blinking slightly and glancing at him, her eyes glassy.

A small, genuine smile graced his features. He couldn't help himself, unable to think of anything but how cute she looked at the moment. She smiled back, although her smile was questioning, probably never having seen him actually smile, even if it was only slightly more than his usual smirk.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he climbed from the car and she grabbed her bag and got out too, the slamming of her door waking her further. The two headed inside and went upstairs. Heero waited patiently as she dug around in her bag for her key. The bag was stuffed, with her fake wig and other items that she had brought along. How annoying.

Heero smirked as she leaned against her door in an irritated way, digging through her bag with more fervour than before.

"Can't find it?" He questioned, approaching to stand in front of her as she dug around her bag. "I know it's in here somewhere," she muttered distractedly, although she was positive the 'distraction' came from the fact that he had come closer. He was so confusing, one second cold and the next second so nice to her that he made her forget how cold he had been a few minutes before.

"Let me help," he offered, digging out his keys, which had a small light attached. He leaned down closer and shown the light into her bag, and she quickly located the key, smiling.

"Thanks," she offered, as he switched off the light and met her eyes. Ami resisted stepping back on impulse, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing what effect his eyes had on her constantly.

Unfortunately, she gave herself away when she still clumsily dropped the key back into her bag.

Heero must have been very practiced in being still, because he made no motion to move at all. Ami was sure she was holding her breath, his soft voice prompting a response.

"Do I scare you?" What game was he playing at now?

"Huh? No," she said, annoyed at how breathless her own voice sounded but not lingering on it long.

"No?" He repeated, "Not at all?"

"Not......at all," she stammered as his face came even closer to hers, his breath tickling her face. Her heart began to pound loudly in her chest and she actually wondered if he could hear it, the only thing currently between the two of them being the bag she still had clutched tightly in her hands.

His lips now hovered mere centimetres above hers, but he still did not move, leaving her totally unable to tear her eyes from his. He spoke even softer now, "Should I move?"

".....no," she finally managed, and at that small form of consent he closed the small gap between their lips, Ami dropping her bag on the floor and wrapping her arms around his neck. Heero grabbed her waist, stepping forwards and pushing her fully against the door as he deepened the kiss. They broke apart for air only a moment as Heero's lips trailed down her jaw and to her neck, inhaling the sweet perfume that still lingered there as his lips continued to tease her.

Ami was sure starting any kind of a relationship with Heero was a big mistake, for obvious reasons. The thought of it made her head pound, but a moment later she was positive her thoughts weren't responsible for her sudden headache. It was only worsening and quickly. Bad timing as usual...

"Heero," she mumbled, and he stopped his actions abruptly, only to catch her as she slumped backwards, her hands sliding off of his shoulders. He inhaled sharply and caught her around her waist and shoulders, her body totally limp in only a moment's time. She had probably just had one of those attacks out of the blue.

"Ami," he said, shaking her slightly. She didn't move, and so he checked her pulse. It seemed fine. Holding her up by her waist, he grabbed her neglected bag off the floor, picking her up. He hated leaving her in her apartment alone when she was unconscious, so he walked over to his door, managing to pull out his keys and balance her before unlocking the door. It swung open with a small creak, and he headed into the darkened apartment, shutting the door behind him.

Heading down the hall, he laid Ami out on his bed, stopping himself from thinking how natural she looked there. Seeing her there should have looked out of the ordinary. Heero headed into the hall to grab a pillow and blanket for himself as he headed for the couch.

He set his watch to wake him at seven thirty, groaning as he realized it was already almost four in the morning.

* * *

Ami rolled around in her bed, hugging the covers closer to herself. She did not want to get up that morning, everything hurt. What time was it anyways? Her head fell tiredly against her pillow, and she froze when she took in the sort of musky smell on the pillow. It sort of reminded her of Heero's cologne actually......

Ami bolted upright, taking in her surroundings quickly. Oh God. Was she in Heero's room? What the hell had happened last night? All she could remember was that they had been making out and that- wait, she couldn't remember anything else. Had she passed out? Where was Heero anyways?

She crept out of the bed, seeing that she was still wearing yesterday's outfit, and peered down the hall. She could hear the sound of the shower coming from what was obviously the bathroom. She continued down the hall, noticing that there was a pillow and blanket on the couch.

Good, so he had slept on the couch. Well of course he had, he had given her the bed. Aw, that was actually really nice.....

The sound of the shower turning off shook her from her thoughts, and she jumped slightly, turning to look at the washroom. The door opened and Heero stepped out, a towel wrapped securely around his waist, which Ami thanked the heavens for, and another one drying his hair. He stopped when he noticed her, offering a rare smile as he approached.

"Good morning, how are you feeling?"

"Morning, I'm good," she said quickly, averting her gaze from his body and meeting his eyes, which also caused her to blush lightly. "I'm sorry, I passed out yesterday, didn't I?"

He nodded. "Don't apologize. By the way, it's about quarter to eight if you were wondering."

She nodded too, wondering if her exaggerated nodding was part of a continued attempt to hide her embarrassment and keep her eyes from his body. "I was, thanks. I'm gonna go home and change."

"Okay, be careful," he added, causing Ami to roll her eyes as she was only headed down the hall but stop as he reached down and gave her a light kiss on her forehead, pushing her bangs from her eyes and smirking at her blush before heading down the hall. He just couldn't stop himself from growing more attached to her everyday, and while he knew it would be a problem later he had decided not to think about it for now.

Ami turned, dazedly wandering over to her purse and hurrying to her apartment to shower. Perhaps all attempts to keep away from Heero before she went back to her dimension were futile....

After showering and fixing her hair, Ami applied makeup, doing the usual mascara, blush, and nude lipstick. Heading into her room, Ami slipped on a chocolate brown pencil skirt that stopped a few inches above her knee. Now she just needed a top....

Locating a simple, cream coloured blouse, Ami hurriedly put it on and looked at the time. Seeing as she still had a couple of minutes, she put some simple silver hoops in her ears, small but different than what she usually wore. She also put on a thin silver watch, which was more decorative but still informative.

Grabbing the smaller purse she usually wore to the office, she dumped the contents of it into the smaller bag sans the wig and brown contacts. She paused at this action. The brown wig and contacts were useless now since she had been recognized yesterday, and she debated whether she should at least get a different wig. After all, Kaden was sure to be pissed and back looking for her....

Then again, she only went to the office and back home, and as of yet no one in the Dark Alliance knew where she lived or worked. Plus, Pluto had reminded her that the Dark Alliance would try to keep away from the Preventers.

Heero knocked on the door and she slipped on her brown wedges, grabbed her key and opened it up, him stepping back when he realized she was ready to go. The two quickly got in the car lest any Dark Alliance agents had been wandering around, Heero keeping the windows up as they were tinted.

* * *

Ami sipped her coffee happily, conversing with the secretaries far more than usual that day as she had already located the headquarters. The pilots were in one of their private offices, having a meeting with their boss.

As far as Ami knew, they had explained to her the day before that they weren't going to tell the Preventers they had found a lead until they talked with Pluto that day. She would help them decide whether or not it was a good idea to involve Preventers troops. It would be good to have the manpower to free her friends, but since all of the Dark Alliance agents had powers it was likely that many troops accompanying them would be killed. She thought it was best that she and Pluto, accompanied by the Pilots, saved her friends, and that was only if the Pilots were willing. Their guns could harm Dark Alliance members but they couldn't take them down with one shot, although she didn't know how agents that weren't as powerful as Kaden would handle gunshots. Plus, what if the Dark Alliance lower agents were some of the missing people, just brainwashed?

After their boss left the office, Duo turned a sly grin to Heero. "Ami is in an awfully good mood this morning. In fact Heero, you are too. I believe you gave her a full smile, not a smirk, a smile, when she gave you a mug of coffee today."

"Hn," Heero said. "If you thought I was in a good mood why are you ruining it?"

Duo's smile hung in the air, but his eye twitched. Heero hadn't glared at him. He had calmly responded, but he hadn't glared.

"Dear God you are in a good mood!" Duo exclaimed, Quatre laughing slightly at Duo's tone. Wufei rolled his eyes at Duo, sharing a look with Trowa, who was smirking.

"Well let's not change that Duo," Quatre finally cut in, dragging Duo away from Heero. Heero watched Quatre drag Duo out of his office, the other two following while Wufei complained about needing another mug of coffee to deal with Duo that day.

He was in a good mood and he just couldn't help himself. He watched from the window of the office as one of the secretaries joked with Ami, Duo running over like a lost puppy needing attention and Quatre following.

Ami was the reason for his good mood. When he and Relena had broken up, he hadn't been able to relate to anyone for a long time. Having Ami there was nice; she almost pushed him to talk more and smile more and just be happier and she didn't even know it.

He frowned when he saw Wufei and Trowa, at the coffee machine, turn to look at something by the elevator pointedly. A look at all of the secretaries, Ami, Quatre, and Duo showed him they were staring at the same thing. Heero made sure his gun was with him, exiting the office and stopping between the coffee machine and the cluster of desks, frowning deeply.

The blonde, green eyed man stopped a few feet from Ami's desk, smiling charmingly. The other secretaries could only wonder why everyone was tense. The man was unfamiliar but extremely attractive, and he was wearing slacks and a white button up shirt, looking like he belonged in the building.

"Excuse me sir," Laura asked politely. "Is there something you need?"

He turned a devastatingly handsome grin her way. "No thank you, I've found what I was looking for." Laura nodded, suddenly nervous although she didn't know why as she backed away to sit at her desk. The other secretaries clustered around her looking confused.

Kaden turned his attention to Ami, nodding at her. Ami's head was spinning. No way would he attack her. There were five Preventers right in the room, all with guns. Quatre and Duo were only a foot behind her, Heero about five feet away and glaring dangerously at the man and Wufei and Trowa at the coffee machine, also only about ten feet away and glaring. No one had moved an inch since Kaden had entered the room, perhaps assessing what he was going to do.

Kaden took a step forwards, extending his hand and touching Ami's cheek lightly. "Hello Ami." She stepped away from his touch immediately, bumping into Duo and Quatre.

"I hope you know, I was up all night searching. I am exhausted, and to be honest your attack was painful to me and devastating on my men. They've been in the infirmary ever since." His voice was friendly, happy almost, but the look in his eyes suggested that he was a lot more irritated than he was putting on. He continued when Ami didn't speak. "I must hand it to you though, you're very clever. You and that bitch, Setsuna," he added, Ami glaring at what he had called Setsuna. He continued anyways. "I mean, I never even thought to check the Preventers for you. I waited outside every other office in town ever since the park attack, hoping to spot you and checking their rosters. I never though, thought to come here, for obvious reasons of course."

Ami exhaled shakily, and he smiled at her silence. "Anyways, I'm just telling you this to make you realize just how much trouble I've been through." His voice became lower, more dangerous, and he spoke. "I can guarantee you this, when my superiors are finished with you Ami I am going to make you suffer. You are going to pray for death every day and I will never allow it. I hope you won't cross me again and just make things worse, understand?"

Heero clenched his fist, his gun drawn as he stared at Kaden. Kaden turned to look at him, smirking.

"How's the face? Trust me, I don't just intend to just make the other side match. You signed your death warrant the other day."

"Leave," Heero commanded firmly, Duo and Quatre also raising their weapons from behind where Ami stood, trying to stay perfectly still. Her wand was in her purse, only about a foot from her hand on her desk, but the other secretaries were in the room and she didn't think she'd have a chance to transform before Kaden grabbed her. Plus, if Kaden grabbed her he could summon a portal right where they stood and no one could do anything about it.

Trowa watched from the coffee machine as Ami clearly assessed how easy it would be to transform, and he pulled out his gun to even out her odds. Wufei preferred his katana but pulled a small gun out as well.

The other secretaries had barely breathed since they clustered around Laura at her desk, and Ami feared for them most of all. Would Kaden use them to get to her? She hoped not.

Kaden saw where Ami's eyes lingered and laughed. "Ami, I am so much more imaginative than that. Anyways, it seems I am a tad outnumbered right now- not that I couldn't kill at least two of them before they got me down," he added. Ami glared at how he had assessed the Pilots, knowing he had misjudged them from his ego.

He continued. "I'll leave, but I'd suggest you be wary when you get off work. Who knows, I could get you when you leave work. Or....I could follow you to your apartment. It really just depends on what I feel like doing. Trust me on this though, now that I've figured out where you are working, I've won. So you may as well just walk outside and hand yourself over to me."

Ami placed her hand on her desk to steady herself, not removing her gaze from Kaden. She had felt secure here and now that security was gone.

Kaden turned to leave, and she wondered if he would disappear in a portal and make explanations to the secretaries more difficult. He didn't, he at least had the courtesy to go back out the way he came.

Her hold on the desk slackened dangerously, and she felt Duo grab her shoulders from behind her, having forgotten he was there entirely.

"Are you okay Ames?"

She could only nod mutely, staring at where Kaden had left from.

It took about three seconds more for the secretaries to scream hysterically, Laura swooning in fear as she had approached the man.

Trowa, Wufei, Quatre, and Duo headed to check on the four, helping Laura up and sitting them down. Quatre explained to them that Ami had been working in the Preventers because she was part of the witness protection program and that all this meant was that she would have to be a little more careful.

"Why didn't you shoot him?" Demanded Nina, Layanna patting her shoulder lightly to calm her.

"We can't just go around shooting people. He left on his own. Had he made a move to attack someone we could have tried to arrest him or shoot him if we had to," Duo reminded, all of them nodding. Wufei nodded at what the idiot Duo was saying. They could have shot him, but gunfire in the building without a decent explanation would have caused them a lot of trouble, especially if they fired at him when he hadn't attacked or even tried to attack an employee.

While the others calmed the secretaries, Heero approached Ami, who still stood stiffly by her desk. He touched her shoulder lightly and she jumped, having been deep in thought.

"Sorry," she apologized dimly, looking away again.

Heero looked down as well, speaking. "Pluto's coming at four, we'll figure out something then. We won't let him get you."

She nodded. "I know, and....I'm not afraid of him getting me so much as I'm afraid of what will happen to the rest of my friends if I get caught too."

"Stop worrying about everyone else," Heero said, shaking his head. He noticed her eyes becoming glassy even though she tried to keep her head down, and he reached out and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"It's okay, we're going to save your friends. I promise."

She nodded, and he gave her a quick kiss and pulled her into his arms, Ami not resisting in the slightest as she leaned tiredly against him and Heero not really caring who saw on the other side of the room.

Although, they both did chuckle lightly when they heard Stacey on the other end of the room proclaim loudly "I knew it!"

* * *

Review!


	7. Part 7

Part 7

Ami sipped her second mug of coffee that day, needing it as the group had been up most of the previous night. She was leaned against one of the desks in the pilots part of the office. The door was shut for the groups privacy, the curtains down, as Setsuna examined the readings Ami's mini-computer had picked up. Setsuna and the pilots were currently analyzing the three of the four buildings Ami had managed to get, the holographic images illuminating every entrance and exit to the base.

Setsuna had, an hour before, been introduced to the secretaries as Ami's agent for the witness protection program that they had lied about her being in after Kaden had arrived. Ami was still shaken from his arrival, but Setsuna seemed fairly confident that they could remove Ami from the builing without Kaden's knowledge. Ami suspected Setsuna planned to use her powers, but didn't dwell as Duo left the plotting group and came to sit next to Ami on the desk, snatching her coffee and taking a long swig.

"Thanks," he offered although he hadn't asked, passing it back. Ami remained silent as she knew they were all still tired from the long night the day before. She had been so comfortable in the office that day before Kaden had shown up, and now she was tense. Was he watching them all now? What in the world was he plotting? He was definitely waiting for her to leave the office building, or so she assumed. He couldn't possibly be planning to come back....

"That missing building from our data is a vulnerability. We have no way of knowing if what we're looking for is there, and if the other senshi are there then we have to go in blind."

Ami was shaken from her reverie at the sound of Trowa's voice. He didn't speak often and hearing his serious voice shocked her slightly. It was then that she remembered that they had told her that Trowa was the best at infiltrating enemy bases. Duo had told her that they all were skillful but that Trowa especiallywas good at disguising himself and destroying bases from the inside.

"Yes, but that fourth building may even be irrelevant," Heero responded to Trowa, tipping his head at the buildings. "The way the entrances and exits are set up may suggest that this buidling here...." he indicated at the second building ".....would be a good place for holding captives."

"True," Wufei cut in, "but I don't think it will be as simple as it seems."

"Yes, for all we know, the Senshi might all be in completely different areas of a building or even in different buildings," Setsuna mused, cupping her chin in her hand and looking thoughtful.

"Well that might be a little irrational. Why separate people that you are captivating for the same purpose, whatever that purpose may be? Wouldn't that require more manpower to watch them?" Quatre asked.

"The purpose may be the same but the way to enact the purpose on each person can be drastically different," Sestuna responded, her brow furrowed. Ami glanced up at Setsuna sharply. She knew that since these events were not part of the planned time stream, Setsuna didn't know why things had occurred. However what Setsuna was implying bothered Ami, because she understood exactly what Setsuna was afraid of.

"You think it's our powers?" Ami spoke up now, staring down into her mug and watching the contents swirl slightly, and indication that her hands were trembling slightly.

Silence pervaded the room, and Setsuna's soft but always calm and clear voice broke the quiet.

"Yes, I do."

"That would..." Ami paused to clear her throat, finally looking up and meeting Setsuna's troubled eyes. "That would complicate things severely. If you don't mind me asking: how did you come to this conclusion?"

Setsuna did not break eye contact with Ami, although her eyes took on a faraway look as she tried to explain her thought process. Her eyes regained their focus as she found her words.

"This enemy was planning on attacking and dominating a dimension that we had nothing to do with. However, they still watched us for a year and then kidnapped most of us and brought us here. Why would they want us if they already had the resources: powerful agents like Kaden? Plus, the fact that they did not relent on their search for you indicated that......that their plans were unfinished without you. They have yet to try and catch me, although I suspect it is from lack of resources as I am always at the gates of time. Also, the fact that they chose to turn Mamoru onto their side set me off. They, to my knowledge, did not brainwash the other Senshi. So why Mamoru? My only answer is that his powers are not anything tangible like you Senshi. So his only use to them was to brainwash him for knowledge about you and I, to track us down once and for all."

Ami held Setsuna's gaze a moment longer, nodding once. "I'm surprised I hadn't considered that sooner. That's.....probably exactly their purpose, as much as it complicates things."

"Or, in a sense, simplifies them. My guess is that they want us all together at one point, perhaps needing a certain combination of our powers. This to me indicates that none of the senshi have yet to be at the mercy of their captives. I believe that they are relatively unharmed as of now, but...." Setsuna added.

Ami felt her tense shoulders relax slightly. Yes, this was good. Setsuna was referring to the fact that Kaden had told Ami each Senshi was promised to one agent.

However she glanced up at Setsuna's last word. "But...."

"Kaden told you that Mamoru told him something interesting about your powers, which means that brainwashed Mamoru told him about you freezing the earth. This could mean that they are currently fixated on finding you because it is an especially interesting case. If they had an idea how to make use of yoru powers, they would."

"If you think they're trying to extract the powers...." Duo hesitated, unsure of how to word his thought. "Well, what I mean to say is....how?"

Setsuna and Ami glanced at each other again, coming up blank. The only time powers were attempted to be stolen were when enemies attempted to take the silver crystal. To take powers that were so very much a part of them seemed wrong. Ami imagined that, despite how much they struggled with the burden of their powers, she might feel ampty without them. Not that they would be allowed to live when all was said and done.

A knock on the door of the office they were in caused Ami to jump nervously from where she leaned on the desk. Layanna's voice came muffled through the doorway.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but myself and the other secretaries were leaving....."

Ami pulled open the door and stepped out to speak with Layanna, noticing the other three secretaries gathered behind her. She shut the door behind her, not wanting them to hear any of the quiet conversation inside the office as she turned to look at the four.

"Is it five already?" Ami inquired, Nina nodding.

"Yes, and it's been a long day with all the previous excitement," Stacey added, Ami nodding and remembering Kaden's visit. "Anyways you're all the last ones on this floor now."

"We'll be finished soon," Ami offered. The girls nodded, waving goodbye and wishing her well.

"Take care," she called after them, meaning it as thoughts of Kaden hanging around the building waiting for the people on this floor to leave entered her mind. Not that she could walk them out, she would make them easy targets that way. Anyways as it was past five, most of the people working in Preventer's headquarters were leaving except for a select few agents or people in charge, so they would probably blend with the crowd.

She watched the women enter the elevator and wave one last time, the doors shutting behind them with a creak. The lights where their desks were located were dimmed and Ami frowned lightly, wondering why the hell she was bothered by some of the unnecessary and unused lights being turned off.

She turned away from the desks, a sudden feeling of nauseau and pain sweeping through her.

'Not now,' was her only thought as she hunched over, her hands resting on her chocolate brown skirt. 'Bad timing as usual.'

Immediately after the pain hit, the bloody coughs began. Ami hurried down the hall in the opposite direction of the office the rest were sitting in, towards the washroom.

Blood coated her hands as she stumbled into the bathroom, taking notice that wearing white or cream colored shirts should have been considered out for her by now.

She tried to control the attack, but as she neared the sink in need of something to lean on she collapsed to the floor.

Ami tried to take a few shaky breaths, sounding like she couldn't breathe at all. She was sure her face was stark white and she shook violently where she lay, not even attempting to get up as she tried to breathe.

Her hands grabbed at her stomach as the pain intensified, clutching at it weakly and only serving in staining the shirt with blood. Another wave of dizziness hit her and she felt her head fall back again, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"Fancy meeting you here."

* * *

"Where's Ami?" Heero questioned the group. It had been only minutes since she had stepped out of the room to speak with the secretaries but he was suddenly tense.

Setsuna frowned as well, glancing at the other pilots.

"I don't know." She watched as Quatre stood and opened the office door, the others staring out at the darkened cluster of desks in the main room of the office.

"There's no way she walked them out, right?" Trowa questioned, frowning as well.

Duo tipped his head questioningly, but Wufei spoke up.

"Surely the onna knows better."

"Yes, she does," Heero said, shaking his head.

"Well maybe some of us should just go down to the lobby and check. Most of the guards are gone but maybe someone saw her," Duo offered.

"I'll go with you Maxwell," Wufei said with a roll of his eyes as the two men entered the elevators and headed down. Quatre and Trowa gazed around the office, looking up at Setsuna as she spoke.

"Maybe she's just waiting with them in the lobby. I'm sure she wouldn't have left," Setsuna commented, walking around the cluster of desks with Heero as she wondered whether Ami was passed out from an attack somewhere in the darkened area.

* * *

Ami's eyes widened at the sound of Kaden's voice in the washroom, but didn't have time to scream as his hand was suddenly over her mouth. Then, in her dizzy state she was aware that he was lifting her from the floor.

'No!' Instinct kicked in over the pain she was in, and Ami blindly began to kick, hearing the sound of her high heels connecting with Kaden's privates, his muffled hiss of pain followed by him dropping her.

Ami knew he was being quiet so that he didn't catch the attention of the others, but the look in his eyes was murder after what she had done. Ami scrambled away from him, her hands reaching towards the door although she hardly could get to her knees and open it in her condition.

Kaden grabbed her ankle and she opened her mouth to scream. Instead, her body refused to let her cooperate and she realized that thanks to the fact that she was having an attack, more blood simply filled her mouth. Her head fell against the floor once more as another wave of the attck hit, the pain excruciating.

Kaden's low laugh was clear and she realized he was crouched next to her, now muttering in her ear. "You make it too easy."

He turned her over to face him, picking her up off the floor and watching as a trail of blood made its way from the side of her mouth.

"Wow," he chuckled lightly but he gained no response from her as she continued to come in and out of consciousness. "You really are sick. I didn't have to hit you or anything," he mused.

She felt rather than saw, his lips upon hers. Apparently Kaden didn't care that her mouth was still dripping blood. Struggling out of disgust at the thought, Ami waited for him to slip his tongue into her mouth, something he did not a moment later. Then with whatever strength she retained Ami bit down on it.

Kaden gave a furious scream, forgetting to be quiet as she had hoped. Pulling back, he stood with her, shoving her against the mirror in the bathroom, above the double sinks.

The mirror shattered from behind her instantly at the force he had used, the glass cutting into her back and neck as she struggled to do something more but was unable to function.

"I don't understand why I chose your file," he seethed. "Something about you I liked, but I couldn't place it."

The sound of a bullet going off caused Kaden to release her, and she toppled off the counter and onto the floor with a painful thud. Two arms encircled her carefully, and then the sight of the bathroom was replaced with Heero's face and the hallway outside of the bathroom, followed by the familiar cluster of desks.

Heero rushed past Duo and Wufei, whom had returned from the lobby not finding Ami but had commented that a window leading to the back of their office on the fifth floor was open.

Both Wufei and Duo had guns drawn, staring apprehensively down the hall where Kaden's figure was emerging. Sailor Pluto stood transformed next to Quatre and Trowa, who also had weapons drawn, staring at Kaden calculatingly.

One bullet in the back would be nothing for him, that she was sure of. He came to stand about fifteen feet from all of them, his posture tense and indicating that he was going to move at any second.

"Careful, he's too fast," Heero warned as he set Ami down at a desk chair and turned to face Kaden. Kaden waved his hands at the one exit from their floor, the elevator. A black light suddenly surrounded it, and he smirked.

"Looks like none of you are leaving and no one remaining in this building is coming to your aid."

Ami tried to focus on the task at hand and fight off the waves of dizziness from her attack, staring worriedly at Kaden's stiff and perfect posture. Kaden stared at her a second, and then before anyone could blink he had shifted to the right and was in front of Quatre, punching him squarely in the stomach with his superior strength and letting him drop, not a moment passing before he had hit Trowa in the head with enough force to knock him out. Pluto, in such a close distance of him, couldn't even follow his movements until he had kicked her into the coffee machine on the right.

Heero's eyes widened. He was faster than the previous time he had faced them. With each movement, he seemed to disappear and reappear in front of them, perhaps moving at almost the speed of light from how fluid his motions were.

Duo and Wufei, further away, shot at Kaden. He however dodged the bullets with ease, appearing in front of Duo and backhanding him in the face hard enough to knock him back a few feet while kneeing Wufei in the ribs and stomping on his chest.

He turned from the two on the floor, allowing himself to be visible a moment as he grinned at Heero, having been waiting for a rematch. Heero fired at him but Kaden had already moved, and was punching him in the chest before he knew he was there, knocking him flat on his back and causing him to gasp for air.

Ami panicked, trying to focus and find her transformation pen. Kaden was out for blood and he was going to get it. She had no doubt that anyone he had already hit felt like a two ton mallet had been smashed into them by the sheer strength he possessed.

He had taken out all five pilots and Sailor Pluto within a mere few seconds. Spotting her purse, Ami reached for it on the opposite desk, toppling over the one she was leaned over and hitting the floor with a groan. Clutching the purse, she dug through it and located her pen, shouting her transformation and hoping she wasn't too weak to transform after her attack.

Quatre was on his feet again, shooting Kaden in the back once more as he kicked Heeroin the side repeatedly. Heero was in pain but wasn't making a sound, and when Quatre shot Kaden in the back he quickly rolled from where he had been lying, grabbing his gun and shooting Kaden in the face. Kaden screamed with rage, stumbling backwards before raising his hands and creating a large energy based attack, chucking it in Heero and Quatre's direction. Both jumped out of the way, and Sailor Pluto attacked, now on her feet again.

"Pluto deadly scream!"

Her attack caused Kaden to collapse to his knees, and he immediately attacked her back with another energy attack, which hit her in the stomach and caused her to collapse to the floor.

Mercury immediately attacked, focusing her strength so she could stand and do so.

"Mercury Ice Storm!"

Kaden could only look in her direction as he was encased in a block of ice. Duo was getting to his feet, helping Wufei stand and staring untrustingly at the ice statue of Kaden.

Trowa was still unconscious from the hit in the head, lying behind a wounded Pluto whom was clutching her stomach.

Mercury stumbled towards the group, racking her brain for what to do. Kaden was down but not out, and he was practically indestructible today. Heero and Quatre were on her heels, them all silently trying to regroup although it was useless.

"Pluto, are you alright?" Mercury questioned, collapsing to her knees next to Pluto. Pluto was pale but nodded, arms clutching her stomach.

"It will heal quickly, this could have been worse." A loud cracking sound echoed through the room, and Pluto looked up sharply."He's breaking out! We need to stop him now before he escapes!"

Mercury turned to attack once more, hoping to buy time with some more ice attacks. Kaden broke free of his ice at this moment, screaming loudly and appearing in front of her before she could blink. He knocked her to the floor, stamping on her upper chest and causing her mouth to fill with more blood as the pain from her attack intensified. She could hear Pluto screaming for someone to take him down and heard the bullets going off. Behind her, Trowa was coming to, groaning loudly in pain from the hit to the head. Heero, Wufei, and Quatre were trying to shoot at Kaden and at least keep him back.

Her world was spinning and she felt someone grab her arm, realizing it was Duo a moment later as he muttered worriedly and complained about his face, which was bruised horribly already and bleeding slightly.

Pluto attacked once more, blasting Kaden into the opposite wall and making him an easier target for the bullets. Kaden scream of fury was heard and Mercury pulled away from Duo was he helped her stand, knowing she needed to attack one last time at least and incapacitate him once more so they could think.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

The attack escaped her hands and she collapsed to the floor, her transformation disappearing from the use of power. Looking up and trying to see properly despite the fact that the room was spinning, she realized that Kaden was only about a foot from her. He was frozen in place, his hands outstretched towards her. The sight madeherblood run cold. She dragged herself backwards and away, Duo at her side and helping her again.

Pluto clutched her stomach from where she laid a few feet away, staring wide eyed at the ice stature of Kaden. "What do we do?"

Heero spoke in short gasps. "Fill him with as many bullets as possible. The ice is thin." He gave a small hiss at the end of his statement, having been kicked in the ribs far too many times. Surely they were broken or fractured.

Ami opened her mouth to agree with Heero, but more blood was all she was rewarded with. Either this attack, or power upgrade, had been way too severe and dangerous on her, meaning she had gained more power than usual, or she had aggravated it with the fight. Blood ran down her neck and back from the mirror of the bathroom and her chest ached painfully.

Wufei spoke up, having a differing opinion than Heero. "Well I don't know. What if he is able to move and attack someone before the bullets keep him down? He almost killed Trowa with that hit to the head. We don't need anyone else to get hit." From where Wufei was checking on Trowa, it was obvious that Trowa was in a lot of pain, coming in and out of consciousness.

"Well I think it's better than any other option," Quatre agreed with Heero, his own hands clutching his stomach and looking a bit ill.

"Do what you want but the ice is breaking," Pluto warned. At this the four conscious pilots raised their guns and began to fire at Kaden's ice stature. The ice broke and he immediately lurched forwards but stopped at the barrage of bullets, screaming in agony.

He stumbled back after having been filled with at least twenty five bullets, opening his mouth to speak or shout and watching as blood poured from it. Able to do nothing more, Kaden waved his hand and created a portal to disappear into.

"Stop him before he gets away!" Pluto shouted, but it was too late and he was gone, collapsing into the portal. Pluto de-transformed, pounding her fist into the floor furiously.

"Now someone will find him and he'll get help," Setsuna muttered reproachfully, sitting up slightly while she grabbed her stomach.

"We filled him with over twenty bullets!" Duo argued. Setsun ashook her head.

"Their forms of healing are as unnatural as their powers. If he gets help he'll be back, he'll just need a longer reovery time."

The sound of pounding behind the elevator doors caused everyone to look up.

"Is everyone alright in there? The doors are stuck and we're trying to get them open!"

"We need an ambulance when you get the doors open," Quatre called, helping Heero sit up.

Wufei leaned Trowa against the wall, watching with a frown as he came in and out of consciousness. He then turned to Setsuna, who nodded in thanks as he leaned her next to Trowa. Wufei then sat against the wall with a groan himself, his ribs surely bruised or fractured.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I got hit in the face," Duo complained, ignoring Heero's glare. Duo approached Ami, grabbing her arm to get her off the ground.

"Come on Ami, I'll help you."

He lifted her slightly, frowning when she didn't respond. "Ami, you okay?" Her body continued to shake, and blood leaked from her mouth, her shirt covered with it as well.

"Shit, I've got you Ami," Duo muttered, picking her up off the floor. Heero frowned, leaning forwards and attempting to get up so he could check on her. Quatre grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back.

"Duo's got her, she's fine."

Duo sat down on the ground holding Ami, and a flash of jealousy passed through Heero even though he knew Duo meant no harm. Shaking the idea from his head, he looked towards Wufei.

"What do we tell our superiors?" Wufei questioned.

"A version of the truth. A Dark Alliance attack, most likely because when we were in Garderville last we unknowingly came close to uncovering their base," Heero suggested.

"Yes, say that," Setsuna agreed. "I wonder if Kaden would send agents to check out the hospitals....would he?" More noise came from the elevator, which would clearly not be easy for whoever the Preventers had hired to get the doors open.

Trowa began coming to again, his soft groans only adding to the tension in the room.

"I doubt he'll be able to speak at all for the next couple of hours. We'll get patched up and check out right away."

"You're all welcome to stay at my estate when we leave the hospital. There's safety in numbers should we be followed," Quatre offered.

"I hope that's not the case, but you're right," Wufei agreed.

"I'm heading back to the gates of time when I get patched up. I've been away too long already, but I'll contact all of you tomorrow."

Duo glanced down at Ami, who was still silent. Her breathing was heavy and more blood than usual still leaked from her mouth. Her eyes were glassy, open only halfway, and he knew she wasn't asleep. "Hey, is it just me or is Ami coughing up more blood than usual? Plus, she's conscious yet unresponsive and she's not snapping out of it as quickly as usual."

This time Heero pulled away from where Quatre was pinning him back, wincing as he managed to get to his feet and head over to where Duo sat.

Setsuna looked up but wasn't able to do much more than sit at the time, gazing curiously as Heero crouched by Duo.

"Ami," Heero muttered, touching her cheek lightly. She seemed to be staring blankly at nothing, her glassy eyes unfocused and her breathing haggard. Frowning, Heero reached for her pulse at her neck, his frown deepening.

"It's too faint."

Quatre stood and approached as well, while Setsuna spoke.

"It was the power upgrade. Either it was too much at one time or she aggravated it by having to fight during. Either way the hospital workers are going to think something is very wrong."

With a loud crack, the workers got the elevator doors open.

"Damn, what could have possibly jammed them like that?" They heard some workers exclaim as the room was suddenly a flurry of activity. Preventers management, paramedics and other various workers stormed the floor. Everyone was immediately divided and checked out whilst Duo, in the best shape of everyone since he had been hit in the face, explained to their superiors the story they had decided to tell them. Then Duo himself was carted away to the hospital with everyone else.

* * *

Heero nodded at Quatre, who looked tense as he waited at the end of the hall.

"You alright?" Quatre asked, never one to just cut to the chase. Heero nodded, his ribs fractured but able to deal with the pain easily enough.

"What's up?"

"Wufei and Duo have already checked themselves out."

Heero nodded. "We need to move. Kaden will send agents to every hospital in the area and we have to be at your house by then."

"Well, Trowa is getting checked out now. He had a severe concussion and he needs bedrest. Setsuna is patched up and has already checked out and says take care heading home. She departed to the time gates a few minutes ago."

"...and Ami?"

"There lies the problem. Her vitals are very low and they don't want her to leave. The problem is they don't know what's wrong with her because physically, after they patched her up from whatever Kaden did to her, there was nothing wrong that they could actually fix. You said she usually snaps out of it?"

"Yes, she usually will come out of this quickly enough," Heero muttered with a frown. "What's that in your hand?"

Quatre looked down in confusion, before nodding. "The clipboard? It's Ami's release forms. She has to sign to check herself out, and she has to be in 'the right state of mind' to do so."

Heero grabbed the clipboard from Quatre's hands, nodding at him.

"Are you taking a cab back to your estate? Where is everyone?"

"Yes, we're taking cabs. We shouldn't risk driving our own cars, plus they're at Preventers headquarters."

"Okay, where's Duo?"

"Upstairs tring to get them to let Ami out."

"Get two cabs and let one of the cabs wait for us downstairs. You go ahead to your house with Wufei and Trowa, and we'll catch up."

Quatre nodded, heading downstairs. Heero headed up to the next floor, approaching the nurse's station to ask which room Ami was in. The nurse at the station smiled brightly at him, waiting patiently for him to speak.

"Listen beautiful, it is of the utmost importance that this young lady be released."

Heero growled at teh sound of duo trying to flirt with a nurse in a nearby room, scaring the girl at the receptions desk as he took off in that direction. Approaching the room, he saw outside that Duo was trying to flirt with a totally uninterested nurse.

"Sir, I can't release her until she signs herself, and in my opinion she's too sick to do so." The nurse glared at Duo, and Duo turned to Heero when he saw him approach, rushing over.

"Heero! Ever since Kaden hit my face no one is moved by my usual charm!"

Heero ignored the distressed Duo and passed the disgruntled nurse, entering the room. Like in the office, Ami seemed conscious, her eyes partly open and glassy. Her breaths had slowed down; become less erratic, and according to her heart monitor her heartbeat was irregularly slow. He tried not to focus too much on all of this depite how hard it was. Ami was worse off than usual but her body would recover on its own and faster than the hospital workers could imagine. He just had to get her out of here and quickly.

His eyes focused on her clothing, beneath the cover that was halfway on her. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and three-quarter sleeved white shirt.

The voice of the nurse sounded behind him. "That woman with the stomach wound who checked herself out brought these up. She insisted that we put her in these because she thought she would be leaving soon."

"She will be," Heero said, approaching Ami and touching her cheek lightly. Ami shifted, her eyes focusing on his now. He smirked. That was an improvement.

"She's better now. She'll be checking out."

"I don't think so, look at her vitals. She coughed up so much blood. No way." Heero smirked at the nurse's irritated tone. Duo peeked into the room and ducked back out when the nurse turned to glare at him.

"Ami, we need to leave. You have to sign this so we can go," Heero explained, showing her the clipboard. Ami's hand uncurled, indicating that she wanted the pen. Heero put it in her hand, making sure that the furious nurse saw that only Ami was touching the pen as she fumbled with it, finally signing on the line and releasing the pen.

Heero smirked again, and the nurse growled.

"Ridiculous! You're ridiculous! I beg of you, please leave her here!"

"I can't," Heero bit back, regretting his tone. "Here are her papers." He gave the nurse the clipboard, reaching over to Ami and unhooking her from all the machines. Duo laughed in the doorway while the nurse's face grew redder, as Heero finished unhooking Ami from the machines.

"Hey Heero, I'm going to make sure Quatre got us the cab," Duo called, leaving and waving at the angry nurse one last time.

"Why are you trying to do her harm?" The nurse gave one last attempt, stepping forwards.

Heero ignored her, bending down to pick Ami up and working through the pain of his ribs.

"Sorry Ami," he muttered as he scooped her up. "You can sleep when we get home."

Ami nodded numbly, her head falling against his chest and breathing deeply.

The nurse watched the two of them a moment, before shrugging her shoulders. Something with the group was up, because every one of them had checked out almost immediately after being treated.

She checked the girls file again, frowning when she realized all of them had come from the Preventers building. Perhaps it was essential that they left.

* * *

I am soooo sorry for the wait! I have been really busy with school and life is crazy, i hope you enjoyed, review!


	8. Part 8

Part 8

"We have a problem."

Quatre set his mug down on the kitchen table that morning with a small thud, looking up at Wufei. Everyone else was still asleep, and Quatre had awoken feeling far better but in need of coffee and fast. Luckily, Wufei had been up before him and a pot had already been brewed.

"A problem," he repeated, watching Wufei nod.

"Kaden."

"I don't think we'll have to worry too much about him."

Wufei shook his head again. "Quatre, the problem is that seven of us couldn't take him down yesterday. All seven of us.....and we plan to charge the base."

Quatre sighed heavily. "You've been worried."

"Of course I am. The security agency has several agents working on the premises. How many of them could be away at work at once? How many are as powerful as Kaden?"

"I'm guessing about fifteen to twenty."

The two turned to the doorway of the kitchen, wear Ami stood watching them. She smiled, speaking again. "Good morning."

"Well you look better," Quatre noted cheerily.

"I am," She said with a nod, tipping her head at them. "How are you two feeling?"

"Better," Quatre said with a smile, Wufei nodding.

"So you think fifteen to twenty are as strong as Kaden?"

"Or stronger," Ami added. "I observed that there were many lower members walking the streets of town when I went to Garderville. They could be loyal members to the group or brainwashed missing people, fairly simple to detain or take down. Others, like Kaden, are loyal members of the group- its core, if you will. When I say some may be stronger than Kaden, I mean that there are at least a couple of agents higher in rank and power than agents like Kaden. Then above them, are the leaders. The leader or leaders are at most two people and are the reason that Kaden or any other agent even has supernatural abilities. They are the ones that we have to worry about and they are the reason we need Sailor Moon and the other Senshi. Hopefully when we break in to free the others, we won't come across the leaders."

Duo padded into the kitchen at this point, passing Ami as he searched for a mug. A frown marred her features when she saw how bad the bruising on his face was that day.

"You feeling okay Duo?" She asked. He nodded glumly, finding the mugs and offering her one, not wanting to discuss his own face. She noticed that Wufei kindly kept quiet, although she was sure that he would make fun of Duo once he was fully awake.

Wufei spoke again now. "It just...it feels impossible...charging the base and getting out alive or getting out in general. I didn't know how powerful agents like Kaden were."

"It'll be fine," Heero's tired voice said from the doorway, entering the kitchen with Trowa. Trowa was quick to grab a glass of water and some Tylenol for his concussion, the group all standing or sitting around the kitchen silently as he drank it.

Quatre broke the silence hesitantly. "I- I'll call for breakfast. I'll tell my staff we have guests." He left the room, leaving the group in silence again.

"When will Setsuna come today?" Duo asked, breaking the silence once more. Ami took a sip of her coffee, pausing, before responding.

"When she feels it's time."

Heero glanced at Duo. "Did you call the office this morning?"

Duo nodded. "Yep. I told them everyone is still not feeling well."

Quatre returned to the room, sitting down and starting on his coffee again.

"We have to charge that base soon," Ami muttered. "We have to free the others. We can't wait anymore; we can't wait past tomorrow night."

"We are a half injured group of people. Besides, Setsuna had a stomach wound yesterday. We should wait a few more days," Heero stated.

"Setsuna is fully healed by now," Ami responded. "We heal much faster than all of you."

"And you?" Heero questioned.

"I'm healed as you can see," she replied without hesitation. The others in the group continued to sip at their coffee silently, watching the exchange with mild interest.

"I can see that you look fine now....and an hour from now when you have an attack from your power upgrades, we'll be trying to get you off the floor and see if you are breathing."

Ami pursed her lips a moment, then spoke. "That can't be helped. If it bothers you, I will try to leave the room when I feel an attack coming on."

"That's not what I meant, I don't want you to be alone when that happens," Heero snapped back.

"Don't worry about it, and I'll be fine to charge the base as planned tomorrow."

Heero stared her down, but she chose to look away and drink from her coffee, causing a slightly pissed expression to take over his face as he too picked up his coffee and downed a few gulps.

Duo his a smirk behind his mug. Heero never let loose his monotone. He supposed that Ami had more of an effect on Heero than the perfect soldier let on.

* * *

That afternoon, Setsuna stopped by briefly to check on the group and finalize their plans. No one had left Quatre's estate yet, as it was safer not to be seen driving around town before they freed the other Senshi. Ami planned to take at least the inner Senshi back to her apartment with her once they were freed. She knew Quatre's estate was large, but she didn't feel right about inconveniencing him with all of her friends. The outer senshi could choose where they wanted to live until they were able to go home, whether it was with her or someone else. Besides, every pilot had his own home and they would all be back at home after they freed the Senshi, plotting to take down the enemy for good.

"The sun is setting around eight tomorrow. We will arrive in Garderville after sunset. Now, we've planned to go ahead and start in that third building?" Setsuna questioned.

Everyone nodded. "I just have a gut feeling that the Senshi are there. It's perfect to hold captives, even if they are all on different levels," Quatre muttered.

"Alright. Good luck everyone and sleep well. I will arrive here at six so we can drive to the city."

"We'll be carrying seven to eight extra passengers once we leave depending on how things go with Mamoru. We'll need enough cars," Ami pointed out.

"We'll have to pick up our vehicles from the Preventer's building then," Trowa suggested.

"If we have seven extra people plus the seven of us, we'll need three cars that each hold five people, with one car holding one less unless we get Mamoru," Heero noted.

"Well we still have the van we took last time," Duo pointed out. "That takes seven people already, but unless we have another van we will need the other two cars. Do you want to drive it again Trowa?"

Trow nodded once.

"I'll drive," Heero offered.

"Me too," Wufei commented, everyone nodding.

* * *

The next day, Setsuna was at the door promptly at six o'clock.

Ami followed Duo out to the back where the three cars were parked, glancing at Duo's heavy looking backpack, which all of the pilots had. No doubt, they were filled with weapons.

Wufei and Setsuna stood conversing by Wufei's SUV. Ami did a double take at the pair but was distracted by Duo, who seemed in a better mood than the previous day and fully at ease as he startled Trowa and Quatre by the van.

Her eyes searched the area for Heero, not too surprised when she heard his voice from behind her.

"Ride with me."

Turning, she was met with his calculating gaze, and could at first only nod dumbly, managing to speak evenly a moment later. "Alright."

The two hadn't spoken more than two words to each other since their disagreement the previous morning. Ami felt bad, because Heero didn't often show his emotions and she had clearly worried him. At the same time she didn't like that he was taking her so lightly.

Not that Ami wasn't worried. Her last attack from her powers had been the night before, and she had been in bed luckily. Now she was concerned. She had expected to have an attack sometime in the day before they left to Garderville, and it hadn't happened. The last thing she wanted was to have an attack and become a vulnerability to the team, whether it meant blowing their chances of saving the girls or getting herself or anyone else caught.

"Everyone ready?" Setsuna called as she was climbing into Wufei's SUV. "Remember, we're meeting at the parking garage three blocks from the base."

Trowa climbed into the drivers seat of the van, Duo running to get shotgun and pouting when he saw Quatre was already upfront, climbing into the back. Wufei and Setsuna pulled out first, dissapearing around the corner of the estate. Ami followed Heero to his car, waving at Duo as the van left the driveway. She climbed into the silver sports car, tense all of a sudden although she had riden with Heero several times.

The two sat in silence, which was unusually deafening for Ami. Heero pulled out and was pulling on to the highway ramp a few minutes later while she fumed silently to herself. Heero was acting normally: silent and monotonous. So it lead her to believe that something was wrong with her for feeling awkward to begin with.

Heero seemed to sense her discomfort, because he kept watching her when he had the chance. Deciding to speak finally, he broke the silence.

"Stop worrying."

His words took her off guard, mostly because he had looked past her discomfort at their argument and seen the real problem: her fear that everything would go wrong. He knew that deep down, their argument had bothered her because she believed what he had said to be true. That fact that he understood her scared her further.

He glanced over at her quickly, taking notice that she was unusually distracted.

"Everything will be fine," he clarified, letting the silence fill the car comfortably at his words. Finally, she spoke.

"How do you know I'm not dragging you to your death?"

He paused, but responded quite seriously. "Impossible. I'm the perfect soldier."

Ami laughed despite the situation, nodding. "Okay, I guess you're right."

* * *

They arrived in Garderville after dark as planned. Ami and Setsuna leaned against the car while the pilots talked in hushed voices a foot away, sorting out weapons and talking more strategy than she remembered all of them discussing.

They were in the parking structure three blocks from the security agency, but Ami felt it was too close for comfort still.

"The pilots.....are more capable than you're expecting," Setsuna said quietly. Ami turned to look at her, her mouth gaping slightly before she responded.

"Setsuna, I know they're amazing. It's just....you know why I'm worried."

Setsuna nodded. "The enemy will know we've broken in almost immediately after we've done so. That's why your friends have worked out a diversion."

Ami tipped her head. Had she been so out of it the last couple of days that she hadn't known many of their plans?

"They've only worked this out recently," Setsuna clarified. "It's good though. They're setting off a bomb in the fourth building."

"A- a bomb?" Ami repeated. "What if our friends get hurt? Or brainwashed lower ranking members on missing persons lists?"

"Our friends are most likely in the third building. The bomb isn't large, they're setting it off outside the main floor as a distraction. The building our friends are in is likely heavilly guarded, so this could help us out for a little while. Anyways, once your in the building our just outside, your computer will be able to trace the Senshi?"

Ami nodded. "Yes, we can figure out which building they're in from outside if we're able to sneak up close enough to any of the buildings without being seen."

"Ready?" Duo's voice asked, cutting into their conversation.

"Yes," Ami said, pulling out her transformation wand. "Let's go."

"Pluto Crystal Power!"

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

Heero shook his head, stepping back slightly and trying to wipe the awed look off his face. He had seen Ami transform twice already and he was still acting stunned.

The group hurried towards the buildings, swiftly but silently. The darkness hid them and they were soon coming around the back of the security buildings, rather than the front where she had analyzed them before.

The fourth building was nearest to them, and after the pilots tried to see if there were any cameras, the group huddled against the wall of the fourth building. Mercury opened her computer, pausing as she waited to see if any of her friends were inside.

Her visor opened up over her eyes, readings beginning to flash across it. The pilots leaned forwards with interest at the new gadget, stopping when she spoke quietly.

"None of our friends are inside. According to my computer this building has a lot of negative energy coming from it, which means it could contain a lot of their power."

She saw Wufei and Trowa smirking at this.

"Perfect," Duo clarified quietly, not hiding his grin. "They'll go nuts if something happens to this building. Let's set up the bomb here and go hide."

Quatre pulled open his bag, Pluto and Mercury stepping back to allow them to work. A couple of minutes later they pilots stepped back.

"We have three minutes to duck unseen somewhere by the third building. When the agents come running to the noise, we'll already be inside," Heero said. "Where's the nearest possible entrance on the third building?"

Mercury turned back to her computer. "Nearby, against that wall," she ushered towards it. "Let's go."

The group quickly moved to the spot on the third building she had ushered to, still concealed by the dark and hopefully unseen. Mercury's computer beeped very lightly, and several readings began to flash across the screen of her visor. Relief washed over her features, the small blinking dots of her missing friends filling her with unbelievable joy. Heero watched her carefully, already knowing what she was going to say and feeling happy just at the natural sight of her true happiness.

"They're in here, all of them except Mamoru right now," she said quietly, happiness in her tone. "They're in different areas but-"

A loud explosion silenced her, and flames engulfed the bottom portion of the fourth building as several shouts were heard.

"You said it was a small bomb," Pluto accused, although she looked pleased. Mercury spotted the entrance she had been referring to, a large vent.

Heero looked to where she indicated, pulling out a small metal tool whose name Ami did not and would never know and quickly breaking the hinges off the large vent, allowing it to swing open. He looked in to make sure it was safe, pulling out a flashlight and nodding.

"Let's go, quickly."

Wufei crawled in first, followed by Pluto, Trowa, Duo, Mercury, Heero, and Quatre. Quatre tried to shut the vent behind them as much as possible. It was broken but would look sealed if there was a quick inspection of the perimeter done.

Mercury paid careful attention to the readings on her visor.

"The vent ends soon, and we'll have to drop down into the room it leads to, somewhere in the basement."

Wufei paid close attention as he was in the front, knowing he would have to drop down first. Heero, in the back, was shining a flashlight down the vent, and the vent latch became clear to Wufei.

"It's here," he muttered, peering down and trying to listen and make sure no one was downstairs. "I think we're good."

Sitting back, Wufei gave the vent's cover a swift kick, and it swung down and open, revealing a totally dark room beneath them.

"It's not a big drop," Mercury clarified from where she was crouched, typing on her computer. Wufei nodded, slipping his legs through the opening and dropping down into the room, landing easily and trying to be quiet. He reached up to help Pluto down, surprised to see her leap down and land in a crouched position, standing and stepping back swiftly so that Trowa could jump down.

The rest hurried down the vent, and Heero closed it as the group stood quietly in the room.

Mercury was tense. No one had come for them yet, which meant that no one knew where in the four buildings they were. Yet.

"Jupiter is the nearest, she's down here," she said confidently.

"Then lead the way," Pluto said with a nod, Mercury nodding as well and following her computer's directions. Jupiter was in a room down the hall, to the right. So far, there weren't any nearby agents except for the one guarding Jupiter.

"There's someone guarding her according to my computer."

"Be ready to attack," Pluto said, stepping forwards.

The groups footsteps, however stealthy, seemed loud as they approached the room Mercury knew one of her best friends was in. Pluto was quick to push open the door and look around, surprised that the room seemed empty of a guard. She paused in the doorway.

"Where's the guard."

"I- I don't know. He's no longer on my computer," Mercury responded, knowing things looked a little suspicious now but anxious to get to Jupiter. She pushed past Pluto, rushing towards the back and gasping.

Jupiter was chained against the wall of the room, her wrists hung above her head. She looked exhausted and weary, more broken than she remembered her being.

"Jupiter!"

Jupiter looked up sharply, her eyes widening as she spotted her friend through the darkness of the room. "A- Mercury! How did you get in here?"

"It doesn't matter, are you alright?" Mercury asked, feeling her eyes welling up with tears at the sight of her friend. She rushed to Jupiter's side, unsure of whether she was injured.

Pluto stepped forwards. "We're pressed for time. Hello, Jupiter."

Jupiter nodded at Pluto, her eyes widening at the group of people behind her.

"Hey! There's-"

"They're with us," Mercury clarified, Heero stepping forwards as he inspected her chains.

"It contains our powers, which is why they're fine leaving us like this. By the way, my guard ran out of the room a minute ago so I'd be quick if I were you. We're going to need a lot of manpower to get out of here."

"Maybe if I concentrate my attack at the chains?" Pluto guessed. She stepped back, everyone getting away from Jupiter as she focused her attack, at the tip of her time staff, ,uttering her attack and watch the tip glow as she used the energy to slash through Jupiter's chains.

Jupiter, who had closed her eyes, blinked them open, lowering her once bound hands and watching as whatever parts of the chain that weren't destroyed fell apart. She brought her hands to rub her sore wrists, wincing slightly.

"Thanks."

Mercury helped Jupiter stand, watching her friend stumble to her feet with worry and smiling as Jupiter stood steady on her own proudly. The two hugged briefly, before Jupiter spoke.

"I'm ready to get out of this hell whole."

Mercury laughed lightly, Pluto smirking. "Then let's go."

A loud siren suddenly went off, and Duo rushed to the door and shouted.

"They've found us!"

Mercury suddenly gasping and letting loose a rare curse as her computer indicated what was happening a second before.

"Damn it!" Heero searched for Mercury in the dark, unaware of what was about to happen.

The floor dropped beneath the groups feet, plunging them into darkness and separating them.

* * *

Jupiter clutched her head, groaning slightly and struggling to stand. She collapsed to her knees once she was on her feet, shaking her head. While in captivity, she had heard talk of a plan liek this from the Dark Alliance. It was basically a trick to stop intruders. The magic would separate everyone into different parts of the building. While the enemy didn't know where everyone was, they had successfully weakened them by dividing them in the building, and would now search the building for them.

"Are you alright?"

She glanced up, meeting the emerald green eyes of one of Mercury and Pluto's friends. Well, she met one of his eyes. The other was concealed by a long bang, and she was stunned into silence for a moment as she took in his extremely attractive face. Had the situation not been serious she was sure she would have blurted out that he looked _nothing _like her old boyfriend.

"Yes," she managed finally, hoping her voice didn't give her away. He extended his hand to help her up and she accepted, the two surveying the training area they had been dumped in. "The name's Jupiter in this form, by the way."

"Trowa," he responded with a nod, turning away lest she see him appraise her beauty. Thank God it was dark.

* * *

Wufei and Pluto moved quietly down the hall they were in. It was one of the upper floors of the building and no one had located them...yet. Footsteps pounded around the corner, and Pluto and Wufei looked around wildly for an escape.

Wufei grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the darkened room on their right.

The security agents ran by, Pluto releasing a low sigh of relief. "Good."

"Setsuna-mama?"

Wufei frowned as Pluto's eyes widened, watching as she turned and rushed to the back of the room, towards the weak voice.

Wufei was at her heels, stopping when he saw the young Senshi, perhaps no older then fourteen or fifteen, chained in the same way as the previous senshi had.

"Saturn!" Pluto exclaimed, having to remind herself to be silent as she knelt besides the weak girl. Using her time staff, she quickly destroyed the chain in the same way she had destroyed Jupiter's, catching Saturn who slumped forwards.

Saturn wasn't visibly seriously wounded, although she was exhausted and probably weakened from the ordeal. "We're getting you out of here," Pluto muttered, looking at Wufei who approached.

"I'll carry her."

* * *

"Duo, please be quiet, all we need is to get caught before we find the others," Quatre said patiently, the group ducked inside a small kitchen on one of the floors.

"What Quatre means is shut up or die," Heero snapped, more angry than usual.

"Take it easy Hee-man," Duo responded. "We'll find Ami soon."

Heero blanched, but quickly composed himself to his typical monotone. Footsteps sounded from outside the room and all of them flattened themselves against the cupboard they were ducked against, relieved when whoever was outside walked away.

"We have to move," Quatre commented, the trio standing and quietly heading into the dark hallway.

They walked for about a minute, not coming across anyone yet. A buzzer sounded and a voice came over the intercom of the building.

"Recovery Personnel to Building 4. All other personnel to building 3 for search and lock down."

"This si about to get a lot harder," Duo complained, the three pulling out their weapons and running down the hall. Hitting a dead end, they heard footsteps and ducked into a room on their left.

"Who are you?" A suspicious voice asked from nearby. The footsteps neared the room, and the three ducked deeper into the dark room, finding a women with dark hair in a red Senshi uniform chained in the back.

The three ducked next to her, the footsteps outside the door.

"Hey, what the hell? Get away from me," she snapped, Duo immediately throwing his hand over her mouth as the door to the room opened. Whoever was in the doorway was met with silence, and stepped out and shut the door. When the footsteps were far away enough in the opposite direction, Duo removed his hand from the girls mouth, his jaw dropping at the fierce glare she was giving him. Her large violet orbs left him speechless a moment, before he stammered.

"Woah, babe, I'm sorry! We couldn't get caught!"

"Like I give a damn about you. Who are you?"

"We're friends of Ami," Quatre cut in, not needing Duo to piss off one of Ami's friends. "Here, let's get you out of those chains and get a move on."

Quatre and Duo set to breaking her chains, while Heero stood impatiently. They had found one of Ami's friends, which was good, but he didn't know where Ami was or whether they should make for the exit now that they had found one of them. No, leaving was not an option.

Heero heard the sound of the girls chains breaking, looking up to see her stand unsteadily.

"So everyone got separated? We may as well try to find the others," she said, and he realized he hadn't been listening as she spoke with Quatre and Duo. "Call me Mars."

"I'm Duo babe," Duo said cheerily, appraising the woman who blew him off and made him more attracted to her.

"I'm Quatre, and this is Heero," Quatre said, ushering at Heero, who seemed preoccupied.

"Hey!" A loud voice was heard from the doorway. "Mars is free! Get her down, now! Before she attacks!"

About five soldiers entered the room, the pilots raising their weapons. Mars looked unconcerned.

"These are just lower members." She stepped forwards, raising her hands. "Mars flame sniper!"

What looked to be a bow and arrow made of flames came alive in her hands, the soldiers cursing as she pulled the flames in the form of the arrow back and released them. They screamed loudly, the fire scorching them and knocking them all out. Mars stepped forwards, looking at the men on the floor a moment and speaking.

"Bastards."

Glancing back at the pilots, she nodded.

"Ready? I want to find my friends as quickly as possible, before stronger soldiers than these find us. I think Venus is around here actually."

Quatre and Heero nodded, impressed, while Duo could only stumble forwards, speaking lowly. "I'm in love."

* * *

Mercury got to her feet, her head spinning. The room she was in was large and pitch black, the atmosphere in the room almost heavy. Luckily, she still had her computer. She would find her friends.

Picking her computer up off the floor where it had fallen with her, she opened it up, thankful that it was durable. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw the flashing symbol of Sailor Moon in the room. Moon was here- but where? The room was dark, but Mercury used her visor and computer to guide her as she stopped just short of hitting the wall at the back of the room.

"H-hello?" A weak voice asked from beneath her. Mercury was taken aback by the weak and broken voice of her princess, hardly above a whisper, the extreme opposite of the usual.

"Sailor Moon?" She muttered, crouching down and grasping her friends hand in the darkness. Her friend gripped back weakly, and spoke again.

"Ames....I-I knew you would be alright."

Tears filled Mercury's eyes immediately, at the thought that her friend was concerned for her well being while captured in this horrible place.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," Moon responded quietly, and as Mercury's eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw that Sailor Moon was only chained by one of her wrists.

"What's wrong?" Mercury questioned, needing an idea of what had happened to her to help her.

"They couldn't figure out how to get the crystal away from me. It continued to- to shield me and respond to me alone. So they've been starving me the last week."

Mercury gasped. "What? That's too cruel- have you had any water?"

Moon cleared her throat, her words coming out more raspy than before. "I think three or four days ago.....I couldn't really keep count in this dark room."

"Oh my God, Usagi we have to get you out of here and get you some help right now," Mercury said, forgetting to call her friend by her Senshi name. Carefully concentrating her attack, she froze the chain holding her princess, bashing it against the wall and watching it shatter.

Mercury reached down and picked up Sailor Moon, carrying her piggy back style and noticing that she was easier to carry than she remembered. The thought saddened her.

"We're going to be fine Sailor Moon, just hold on," she said, heading out of the room.

"What about the others?"

"I have friends here who will help, just don't worry," Mercury assured, biting her lip in hopes that she wasn't lying to her princess.

* * *

"The stairwell is this way," Trowa corrected as Jupiter walked down the hall, ignoring him. Trowa had tried to learn the layouts of the buildings before coming from Mercury's computer, so he was pretty confident that Jupiter was in the wrong. He followed her, frowning, as she stopped, staring between two doors.

"I know, but if we're on the floor that I think we're on, then I saw Sailor Neptune get dragged into one of these rooms a week ago."

Trowa nodded, reminding himself that the purpose was not just to get out but to save all of Ami's friends.

"I think it was this one," Jupiter mused, heading to the room on the left and pushing open the door. She blanched when she opened the door. "Shit, wrong room."

"No, right room. We were just ready for you," a voice said, the higher ranking officer Domonic stepping forwards. She glared at him, backing out of the room and next to Trowa.

"This one is trouble, his name is Dominic and he's been watching over me the last few weeks. He's strong and higher in rank."

"As high in rank as Kaden?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

Trowa didn't respond, knowing that this Dominic was probably promised the same thing from Jupiter that Kaden was from Mercury. The dark haired violet eyed man suddenly stepped out of the room, and Trowa wasted no time in beginning to fire.

Dominic was fast, dodging as fast as Kaden could, but the five men behind him were easy targets, three of them dropping instantly. The last two men crowded behind Dominic, looking worried now. Dominic simply laughed.

"You're one of the pilots, right? You're as good as Kaden said you were." Trowa said nothing, trying to assess Dominic and see what he was up to. Dominic spoke again.

"He also mentioned that it took all five of you and two senshi just to get him down."

"So Kaden is still alive then," Trowa said, Dominic laughing.

"It takes a lot to kill us."

Jupiter seemed impatient, not willing to wait and get to her friends.

"Enough talk. Jupiter Thunder, crash!"

Trowa backed up as an antenna seemed to come out of Jupiter's tiara, crackling with electricity. He watched with awe as Jupiter released a barrage of lightning at the remainig three men.

The two lower ranking soldiers who were behind Dominic hit the ground, Dominic having tried to dodge but being unsuccessful in the small hallway.

"That hurt. I'm not going to lie though, that feisty attitude is what I like about you."

Anger fueled Trowa although he didn't know why, as he raised his automatic and began to fire unrelentingly. In the small space Dominic could hardly dodge the bullets, shouting in rage as blood began to seep from his mouth.

"I'm getting help and coming back for you," he seethed, glaring at Trowa and disappearing.

"Wow, good job Trowa," Jupiter appraised. "Are you a soldier or something?"

"Something like that. Let's get your friend and get off this floor and out of the building before he gets help."

Jupiter nodding, running into the room to unchain Neptune with Trowa at her heels.

* * *

"I'm sure we'll find Uranus and Neptune soon Saturn," Pluto assured Saturn, who Wufei was carrying. The trio was headed towards a place on the floor above where they had freed Saturn from, since Saturn said she knew Uranus was somewhere on the floor.

"Where do you think she is?" Wufei asked, growing impatient of wandering.

"They kept her somewhere with more security. They said she made too much of a ruckus," Saturn explained, Pluto smirking.

"That sounds like Haruka alright."

"Hey," Saturn tapped Wufei, carrying her piggy back style, on the shoulder. "This room seems familiar to me."

Wufei turned to look at the heavier looking metal door. It definitely seemed more secured than the other rooms, and a loud soldiers shout from a few feet away confirmed that it was more heavily guarded.

"Intruders at Uranus' cell!"

The three turned to assess the soldier that had shouted, who was followed by eight more soldiers.

"Don't worry too much, they're lower in rank," Saturn said, her silence glaive appearing in her hand even whilst Wufei carried her, and blocking the first round of attacks with a purple shield.

"Thanks Saturn," Pluto said, stepping forwards and attacking. "Pluto deadly scream!"

The attack knocked out four of the men, the last five still charging. Without warning, Wufei reached down into the bag Pluto had set on the floor. It was the bag he had carried into the base like the other pilots, filled with weaponry and some bombs if necessary.

Saturn clung on to Wufei tighter as he did so, gasping as he withdrew a long katana from the bag, unsheathing it and leaping at the five soldiers with a startled Saturn in tow. Pluto laughed at the expression on Saturn's face as the last man was forced to his feet by Wufei, the tip of the katana at his throat.

"Open that room for us," he commanded stiffly. The man nodded apprehensively, hurrying towards the room and typing a code into the keypad, also pulling out his keys and unlocking the door on top of it.

Wufei stared at his keys. "Will one of those open the onna's chains?"

The man nodded once more, and the four entered the room to see a pissed looking Uranus chained against the wall.

"I missed the fight, right?' She asked flippantly, although she seemed quite relieved to see Pluto. "Glad you were able to come through Sets."

"I had some help," Pluto responded, watching as the shaking soldier undid Uranus' chains. Uranus stood, a little less stable than usual, and glanced between Pluto and the soldier that had released her.

"I'd suggest that you lock this dumb ass in here before I do some real damage."

* * *

"Venus was right here I think," Mars said to the three men walking by her as the group moved down the hall. "Here."

She pushed open the door, Duo at her footsteps and checking her out while she walked. Quatre looked embarrassed by how Duo was acting, walking next to Heero, who was silent and more tense than usual.

"Venus?" Mars called in the darkened room. The room remained silent, the group staring around unsure.

Quatre walked a couple of feet to his left, feeling his foot hit something soft and gasping and stepping back.

"Ow," a tired and sleepy voice responded. "Who's here?"

He crouched down, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as he realized he had stepped on Sailor Venus.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm Quatre Winner, we're friends of Ami's. We've already freed Mars and we want to get you out of here."

"Ami? Okay, I'm glad she's okay then. I'm Minako or Venus right now," Venus said, quickly waking up and sitting up while Heero and Duo set to work on her chains.

"Well we don't know where Merc is, everyone is separated so we'd better get a move on and find everyone, I'm worried," Mars said.

"Take it easy Mars," Venus chided as her chains were broken. Quatre helped her to her feet, his eyes now having adjusted to the dark and allowing him to lay eyes on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

His heart only sped up further when Venus smiled at him.

"Hold it right there my dear," a low voice cut into the room. Venus groaned.

"That's Cole. He's a higher ranking general, and he's been guarding my cell the last three weeks. Actually if you don;t mind, I'd like a shot at him."

"Go right ahead Venus," Mars said.

"Be quick," Heero added, Venus exchanging a look with Mars. This guy was in a major hurry.

Venus stepped forwards. "Ready Cole?"

"Always for you."

She nodded. "Good, I've been waiting for this." A light burned at the tip of her finger, exploding into a bright beam, which she quickly unleashed on the man.

"Venus crescent beam, smash!"

He deflected it, but she wasn't finished.

"Wanna double team him Mars?"

"Sure," Mars said, knowing what Venus was about to do.

"Venus love chain, encircle!"

The chain held the unsuspecting general in place, and he began to curse. "Dammit I hate when there's more than one of you!"

"Mars celestial fire, surround!" The general screamed as Mars' attack hit him head on.

"Anyone else?" Venus asked, her smile fading as Heero pulled out his gun and fired at the general about six times, enticing more screams.

The general muttered a threat but could barely find the strength to escape into a portal, Heero stalking out of the room almost immediately. "Let's go."

"Yeah he was definitely in a hurry," Venus said, "but he's right, we should go." She slyly grabbed the shy man she had been introduced to by the arm. "Walk with me Quatre."

Mars rolled her eyes, following and ignoring Duo as they tried to find their friends.

"I think we'd better head towards an exit, it's been over an hour and I bet some of our friends are outside. We can see who's out and then go back in for the rest," Quatre suggested. Heero pursed his lips, wanting to find Ami, but knowing that she had her computer and was possibly outside already.

* * *

"Moon, are you still with me?" Mercury asked quietly, positive that she was unconscious by now. As she had thought, she received no response from her starved and dehydrate leader.

According to her computer and visor, there was a stairwell nearby. Mercury followed the directions, trying to be as quiet as possible and also quick while carrying Sailor Moon.

The computer indicated that she cross through a room to get to the stairwell. Mercury paused, staring into the darkened room. There didn't seem to be anyone inside, and if the stairwell was there then....

Mercury quietly pushed open the door, pausing once she had entered the room. Her computer beeped lowly, still telling her to cross the room and head to the stairwell, but something just felt off, something it wasn't able to pick up on.

The lights in the room suddenly flickered on, and she realized that the room was something of an infirmary. She guessed it was more of an infirmary for their captives and not their workers, as there were only about two cots, but what stunned her more was the unfamiliar man sitting on the edge of one of the cots.

"Ah, Mercury, so good of you to join us. Although....I see you're trying to go somewhere with my precious Sailor Moon."

Mercury felt her blood boil at his statement, remembering what Kaden had told her about their files and each Senshi being promised to an agent. The man continued anyways.

"The poor thing looks terrible. Not to worry, their plan to starve her did nothing to the crystal, so the word is that they're feeding her tomorrow."

"Who are you?"

"Oh how rude of me. I'm general Ryder." The man was tall and slightly leaner than Kaden, although she knew not to take him lightly. His hair was light brown and his eyes were a pale blue very much like Minako's, but he assessed her coldly, his eyes burning holes into her for what she was trying to do. He was nothing like Minako.

A sudden pang in her stomach stopped her assessment of her opponent, a feeling of disgust welling up within her as she realized that she was about to have an attack at the most inconvenient and crucial of times.

The pang was replaced with a wrenching pain as Mercury unwillingly collapsed to her knees, the unconscious Sailor Moon sliding off her back and slipping to the floor.

"No," she muttered, her body beginning to shake, followed by being racked with coughs. Blood coated her hands and another wave of pain hit her, worse than the last as she collapsed from her knees to her side, her breaths strained and painful.

General Ryder's chuckle cut through the pain. "Oh my, you're having one of those attacks, aren't you? Most interesting......" He paused and Mercury turned, her heaving breaths quickening as she realized that he was picking up Sailor Moon.

He simply moved Sailor Moon to the cot he had been sitting on, turning and approaching Mercury on the floor.

Her head was spinning as he crouched next to her, tipping his head.

"Unlike Kaden, I won't be taking it easy on you when I have the clear advantage."

He grabbed her collar, smirking at the blood leaking from the side of her mouth and how her body shook.

"It's....it's too easy. Oh well." Standing, he kicked her in the stomach, causing her to cry out at the blow. More blood filled her mouth and her hand flew to it, coughing up more of the blood. It was exactly what she and Heero had been afraid of.

He kicked her again, smirking as it was a better hit, her body rolling back and hitting into a silver cart. Whatever was in the cart fell around her, and her eyes widened at the scalpels and various knives that littered the ground. Was this an infirmary or another sick experimentation room?

She didn't have time to move as Ryder was attacking again, and she could see the black energy crackling like lightening around his hand from where she lay on the floor, but didn't have the strength to move away from her attacker.

The pain was crippling when mixed with the pain from her attack, but she wasn't able to scream as all that happened was once more getting a mouth full of blood. Her hands trembled as she tried to get off the ground, but Ryder wouldn't let her, throwing another attack at her and knocking her out a few seconds.

She came to only to find Ryder holding her collar. He lifted her up off the ground, smirking. "Don't worry, I'm not allowed to kill you until they're done experimentation. Anyways I don't want to upset Kaden, he's been waiting for them to finish. I do however have permission to incapacitate you as I please."

At this, he threw her against the wall, her head hitting it with a thud as she collapsed onto the floor. Approaching her, Ryder readied a different blast in his hand, and threw it at her stomach. Her cry of protest was short, her hands touching her stomach carefully to assess how badly she was bleeding. Ryder again threw the same attack at her and smirked as she was silent this time, her eyes becoming glassy as more blood filled her mouth, blood from the wounds covering her hands which only weakly touched her stomach.

"W-water..."

The sound of her princess' voice helped her to look up through the pain. Sailor Moon had come to, hardly, and was weakly just asking for water. She saw Ryder's face when she asked, a small frown marring his features as he approached Sailor Moon.

"Will you survive without it tonight?" He inquired, looking for a cup and clearly counting Mercury out for the count. Mercury, despite the pain, hid a smirk. Sailor Moon was indeed severely thirsty, but Mercury knew she was distracting Ryder to give her a second, as Ryder wanted Sailor Moon alive when his superior's experimentation was over.

Ryder was giving Sailor Moon the water as she spotted one of the knives that had fallen off of the cart. Reaching a trembling hand for it, Mercury swiped the knife and tucked it carefully beneath her body, waiting for Ryder to return. One good hit with the knife would give her an opportunity for an ice attack, that would hopefully incapacitate Ryder long enough for her to get Sailor Moon out and down the stairwell. That was, if she could stand let alone carry Sailor Moon while having the attack. She pushed the pain back, watching as Ryder left Sailor Moon. Her thirst was satisfied but she was unconscious again. Ryder crouched down next to her, grabbing her up by her left arm and beginning to pull her from the ground.

Without a second thought, Mercury plunged the knife in her right hand into his chest before he could stop her. His loud scream echoes through the room as he temporarily dropped Mercury, stumbling backwards and trying to pull the long knife from his chest.

Pushing back the pain, Mercury got to her knees, knowing she didn't have a moment to spare before Ryder attacked again. "Mercury ice storm!"

Ryder screamed once more, becoming frozen in the ice before he could remove the knife from his chest. Mercury poured as much energy as she could into the attack, wanting it to hold him as she stumbled to her feet, falling onto the cot Sailor Moon was on. Sailor Moon didn't move, worrying her, and the pain she was feeling was crippling. Taking a deep breath, Mercury pushed past everything, knowing that these next few minutes were crucial as the stairwell would lead her to an exit. If she managed to get outside, she would surely find help from anyone else who did.

She pulled Sailor Moon onto her back, carrying her piggy back style and stumbling towards the stairwell, her strained breaths the loudest sound in the area. She grabbed the railing of the stairs with the arm that wasn't clinging onto Sailor Moon when she was about to fall, her bloody coughs echoing in the stairwell.

She had to keep moving.

Sailor Moon nearly slipped off of her as she reached the bottom- another scare, and when she pushed open the emergency exit she was more than surprised when she saw every single one of her friends except for the brainwashed Mamoru, standing about a hundred feet away at another darkened exit.

There was no way she could shout; she knew it was crucial that they make a silent escape. Mercury staggered over to them, needing someone to take Sailor Moon before she herself passed out from how much she was hurting.

* * *

Heero tensely gazed around the group as the last to exit the building was Wufei and Pluto, with two other Senshi. One was younger than the rest and Wufei was carrying her, while the tall blonde leaned against Pluto. Everyone was trying their best to keep quiet, not having the strength to have a major fight right now should they all be discovered.

"Ami isn't out yet, we have to go back in," he stated, Quatre moving from the tense and tired group and coming to stand by him.

"Yes, the other Senshi said that their princess isn't out either, and Ami stressed that her escape was crucial. We can hope we'll find the two together when we go back in, but there's no guarantee. Everyone else should head towards the cars and get out of here, the two of us can go back in and catch up."

"There's no need," Trowa's voice cut through their conversation, and Heero turned and followed where Trowa was pointing.

Mercury was limping towards them, and in the darkness he could make out a figure being carried on her back.

"Wow," Quatre muttered, sounding relieved as he turned to speak lowly to Venus.

Heero's feet we're pushing him forwards before his mind registered the action, as he quickly closed the remaining distance between them, only to stop short, Trowa at his heels and Quatre having told the group to stay back to avoid a commotion and get them caught.

Mercury looked beaten and exhausted, but what was more concerning was that she was bleeding severely from her stomach. She'd also clearly had an attack and was still not through it yet. Now that he was close, he could see how her body shook, how pale she was, and the blood leaking from her mouth. Her breaths were erratic and strained, and she was swaying slightly on her feet.

"T-take her from me, please." Her voice was low, slightly raspy yet clear in her instructions. Trowa immediately pulled the woman from her hold, taking in her appearance and frowning. Heero caught Mercury by the shoulders as she slumped forwards, more bloody coughs racking her body.

"They starved her," she said between coughs, referring to Sailor Moon.

"We'll get her help." Heero turned to Trowa. "Let's go."

Trowa nodded, walking towards the group. Heero reached for Mercury, pulling her off the ground and heading towards the group, who all began to quickly exit the premises and head towards the parking garage three blocks away.

"Hey, is Mercury having an attack? Oh my God, she's bleeding badly," Venus said as they walked quickly through the dark, pushing over to where Heero stood. "I've never seen her attacks that bad."

The other Senshi muttered worried statements, trying to see in the dark, but Heero spoke quickly.

"Don't worry, focus on getting out of here before we're followed."

Venus nodded, and pushed to the front confidently where Quatre was leading the group, checking on everyone along the way. Heero remembered Ami mentioning that Venus was second in command, and it showed.

They reached the parking garage in no time, heading up the stairs and to their floor quickly, hoping no one was following.

Trowa, who was driving the van, passed Sailor Moon to Jupiter as he opened the car. Jupiter set Sailor Moon in one of the seats, climbing up front with Trowa. Duo and Mars, Neptune and Uranus also got into the van. Wufei and Pluto with Saturn in tow headed for Wufei's car, and Quatre and Venus decided to go in Heero's car. Heero stopped outside his car where he held Mercury, frowning.

"She really doesn't look good. Drive my car Quatre, I'll sit in back with her."

"I'm fine," Mercury muttered, but more blood filled her mouth and she turned away, growing silent.

Quatre nodded, taking the keys and ushering for Venus to sit up front. Venus did so with a frown, worriedly watching as Heero sat in the back and laid Mercury out as much as possible. Heero rushed to the trunk, pulling out the emergency first aid kit he had in there and climbing into the car.

"You all don't stay transformed, how does it go away?" He questioned Venus as Quatre started the engine and followed Trowa and Wufei out and towards the expressway.

"Just click her tiara like this." Venus demonstrated on her own tiara, having been transformed for much longer than was comfortable while in captivity anyways. She was returned to her dark blue skinny jeans and off the shoulder yellow sweater, Quatre glancing over at her and blushing lightly.

Heero did as Venus said, Ami's clothing immediately returning to normal after a blinding light washed over her. His frown deepened as she looked even weaker than she had while transformed, her strained breaths the loudest sound in the car.

"She never had attacks quite this bad," Minako commented from the front. "I'm amazed she was able to get Sailor Moon out while having one of those attacks and obviously fighting an agent, she normally can't even stand."

That was true. Heero was impressed, to say the least. He was concerned however that she had clearly aggravated her condition, especially with the wounds on her stomach.

Ami hunched over suddenly, beginning to cough again and violently. Heero caught her around the shoulders, the action catching her off guard although she realized he was safe guarding her as the car was still moving. The coughing felt rougher on her than usual, each cough reminding her of the pain in her limbs and the nausea and faintness she was feeling.

Minako spotted a tissue box in Heero's car, grabbing it and frowning when she turned to give it to the pair in the back. Ami's eyes were half open and she was now totally unresponsive, pale as a ghost and breathing with difficulty. Blood continued to pour steadily from the side of her mouth and if Minako was being honest with herself, she knew that it was a good thing that Heero had sat with Ami because she had no idea what to do for her friend.

Heero recognized this from the last time they had been attacked at the office, wondering how severe this was. He accepted the tissues, wiping at Ami's bloodied hands and face, although her mouth was still dripping blood.

Pulling her back onto the seat properly, he kept his hold on her waist, touching her face lightly and frowning when she realized she was severely feverish.

"How's she doing Heero?" He glanced up at Quatre.

"Not so good. Your house is about to get majorly overcrowded and Pluto likely won't even stay the night. We're also expected at the office tomorrow morning, before the Preventers decide to launch a full fledged investigation into the office attack. Ami is expected to go in for questioning too, she has to show up to work."

Heero opened the first aid kit, setting to work on stopping the bleeding on Ami's stomach. He pulled up her shirt carefully, wincing at the blood and ignoring Minako and Quatre's conversation.

"Work?" Minako questioned.

"At the preventers headquarters. Ami will explain tomorrow," Quatre ran a hand through his hair, continuing. "Then I'm dropping you and Ami off at your apartment building so she can rest up before work. I'll keep the Senshi at my place overnight and give Trowa, Wufei, and Duo a chance to get home and ready for work tomorrow."

Heero's head perked at this. "Fine, but you know their leader is starved and dehydrated and you'll have to accommodate."

"I'll take care of her," Minako cut in.

"Good, then I'll come by in the morning with Ami before work, around eight? She can check on her friends and see if anyone has any concerns before we head to work."

"Okay, I'll let the girls know what's happening. I think everyone is too tired now anyways, they're probably anxious to sleep in a warm bed," Minako said.

Heero nodded, glancing down at Ami and seeing that she was now fully unconscious, her breathing having calmed but her body still trembling slightly from the attack.

"How far is the city we're driving into?" Minako asked.

"Almost two hours more, sleep if you'd like," Quatre offered.

"No, I want to be alert when I take care of Usagi tonight. That's Sailor Moon's name, by the way."

Quatre nodded, Minako's caring and yet outgoing personality charming him despite the situation they were meeting under. Heero chose to tune out the conversation up front, focusing on wrapping her stomach. Tomorrow would be another hell of a long day.

* * *

Review!


	9. Part 9

Part 9

Ami rolled over in the bed she was in, recognizing it as Heero's from the last time she had passed out and groaning. Clearly Heero hadn't wanted to take her to Quatre's crowded estate or her empty apartment, but she felt terrible taking his bed.

Every part of her body was aching, and it was still dark out, so she guessed he had laid her down only a couple of hours before. Her head pounding, she sat up slightly to check the time. 4 AM.

Ami needed water badly, her throat on fire from her coughing and wondering if she would be able to stand.

She tried to sit up fully, her stomach hurting severely when she did so and reminding her of the injury. She bit back a cry, resting her hands on the edge of the bed and pushing herself to her feet. Stumbling forwards, Ami clutched onto the dresser, her breaths louder than she would have imagined.

Using the walls in the hall as support, she headed down the hall, stopping when she noticed the bathroom. Heading inside, she quickly washed her face while gripping the sink, rinsing out her mouth and feeling a million times better.

Heading carefully into the kitchen, she opened a couple of cupboards before finding a glass. Gripping the sink, she opened the tap and filled the glass halfway, satiating the burning of her throat.

She wondered when Heero planned to be up or when the plans were made for her to go see her friends. Setting down her glass, she placed a hand to her head. It was pounding and she wondered where Heero kept his Tylenol.

Turning from the sink, Ami headed out of the kitchen, not realizing how faint she was feeling until she dropped by the door of the kitchen.

Placing her hands on the floor, she struggled to get back up, her stomach stopping her from moving too much.

"Ami." She jumped when hands encircled her arms, pulling her from the ground and to her feet.

Heero looked tired but alert as he helped her into the living room silently, catching her before her feet gave out on her by the couch and setting her on the couch.

"Sorry," she apologized, grimacing as she tried to sit up on the couch. Heero's hand pushed her shoulder down, shaking his head.

"Don't move if it hurts.....what are you sorry about?" He pushed her bangs from her eyes as he spoke, his hands brushing her forehead and noting that she was still feverish.

"Being a burden....you were right about my having the attack."

Heero's eyes flickered to hers. "In a way I was. Although.......you impressed me. While having an attack you managed to get your leader out, and judging by your wounds I'm guessing you were fighting."

Ami said nothing for a moment, surprised that anything she could do would impress Heero. Leaning her head, which felt heavy, back against the couch she spoke. "Thank you for helping me."

He nodded, glancing away a moment before looking back at her. "We have to be up at seven, to stop at Quatre's estate before heading into the office."

She frowned, and he explained about the Preventers investigation.

"You're still very sick and we have to be up in a few hours, so let me take you back to bed," he said, picking her and heading back to his room.

* * *

Ami tiredly leaned against the wall in the hall between she and Heero's apartment. Heero had woken her up about forty minutes before, and the two had quickly gotten dressed for work. Ami had showered and it had woken her up slightly, but she still felt a bit light headed and sick. She had selected a pair of black pants and a royal blue cardigan for the office, not too concerned with her appearance as she was just going in for questioning and perhaps a few hours of work. Not that she felt she could do much. All that she was anxious about was seeing her friends.

Heero locked his apartment door, glancing at her. "Ready?"

She nodded, the two heading downstairs and frowning as Heero stopped at the door in the lobby. "Quatre drove my car to his estate last night."

She stepped towards the door unsteadily, reaching into her purse. "Should I call a cab?"

"Duo's on his way, we can take my car to the office from Quatre's." The honking of a horn outside followed, and the two stepped out to find Duo seated tiredly in his black convertible.

He glanced up at them when they neared the car, smiling. Ami had forgotten about the bruising on his face, which had faded slightly, a fact she was sure Duo was happy about.

"Morning," he offered. "Ready to see your friends Ames?"

"Good morning Duo," she said politely, watching as Heero pushed the seat back to help her into the car. "...and yes, I am."

The three pulled up at Quatre's estate, Ami wondering if they were just a bit too early on her friends after the long night.

Duo pulled his car down the long driveway and into the back, Ami impatiently climbing from the car and enticing a laugh from the tired man.

"We'll see them now. I hope Quatre made us some coffee."

Wufei and Trowa's cars were already parked outside, and Heero wondered how long they had been there as he followed Ami to the back door. Ami knocked on the sliding door to the back hall, but Heero tapped her lightly and she stepped aside, watching as he let himself in. Duo ushered for her to follow Heero and she did so, following Heero around the corner and into the kitchen, where there was a lot of talking going on.

Ami rounded the corner excitedly despite how terrible she felt, spotting Rei by the coffee machine at the door.

Rei noticed her only a second later, meeting her gaze and breaking into a large smile as she closed the distance between them and gave her a big hug, her voice tired but happy. "It's so good to see you Ami," she offered genuinely, not breaking the hug until Minako and Makoto pounced on her as well. Hotaru jumped her next, warmly hugging her and wishing her well. Haruka ruffled her hair, smirking at her good naturedly, and Michiru hugged her and asked how she was feeling.

Ami nodded at Wufei and Trowa, who stood drinking coffee by the counter, and smiled at Quatre who was by the table.

"Hey, don't forget about me," Usagi's tired voice cut through their chatter, and Makoto stood warily next to Usagi as she stood from her chair and approached Ami, who crossed the room so she wouldn't have to walk far, wrapping her in a hug.

"Are you alright?" Ami questioned.

"Me?" Usagi seemed a bit weak still, but much improved, as she sat back down, the group clustering around the table. "I'm okay, Mina took care of me."

Minako smiled from where she stood, and Usagi continued. "It's you who took a beating. Agent Ryder was brutal while you were having that attack. I'm so proud that you were able to get us out."

Ami shook her head. "Actually Usagi, if you hadn't come to and thought to beg for water we both would have remained inside- I needed that distraction desperately."

Usagi shook her head. "I felt totally useless. It was your quick thinking with the knife that actually detained him long enough."

Makoto winced slightly, imagining that Ami probably had to stab that agent.

Heero listened to the story tensely. It sounded like too close a call and a feeling of worry welled up within him.

Makoto looked at Heero and Duo, nodding slightly. "Hi, I'm Makoto."

Ami frowned, realizing that the other three pilots were here while Duo and Heero had only met whichever Senshi they had run into the previous night.

"I'm Duo," Duo said brightly. "...and this is Heero." Heero nodded at the group, the two listening as everyone's names were listed.

Ami was pulled to the counter by Minako, who began to fuss over her some more.

"You sure you're okay? No one else saw what you looked like when we got to the car."

"I'm fine Mina," Ami assured. "I'm just glad we got all of you out."

"All but one, Usagi was bummed when she realized Mamoru was brainwashed and hadn't even been in the third building."

"Well now that we got you all out we can focus on taking down this enemy and getting Mamoru. Did Setsuna go home?"

Minako nodded. "Last night. She said she'd be back later on, when you all got back from work. Quatre already explained to us where you were working the last three weeks and why you have to go in now. He also filled us in on a few of the things we missed while in captivity. He said he's anxious to hear our stories as well."

Ami grabbed her friend's hand. "I'm positive he means to know the purpose of the enemy. Surely, you all had an awful three weeks."

Minako nodded. "I know; he's a good person. We can't all possibly inconvenience him and stay with him."

"I have an apartment, you can all come and stay there."

"Will your apartment fit all of them? Quatre has a lot more space."

Ami glanced over at Heero, who was pouring three mugs of coffee, most likely for himself, her and Duo.

"Yes, but having everyone here is just way too much," Ami objected. "I should take at least half of my friends. I have a guest room and the couch unfolds into a bed."

"Well then you could only take about four of your friends, and that's if you put two to a bed and one person sleeps alone. What about the other three?"

"Actually," Haruka's voice floated into the conversation. She was grabbing some more sugar from the counter as she spoke. "I already discussed it with Quatre, and he was generous enough to offer for everyone to stay. I figured that all of you inners might want to stay together, but I did agree for Hotaru, Michiru and myself to stay here. That way, we're in to different places if the enemy were to discover one of the houses as I'm sure they're hunting us down."

"That's actually perfect ," Minako agreed, Haruka smirking.

"That's why I thought of it Mina."

"Oh please," Michiru said with a roll of her eyes and a delicate laugh at Haruka's ego, snatching the sugar from her.

Makoto smirked from where she was talking to Trowa, turning back to her conversation. Wufei, Usagi, Rei, Hotaru, Quatre and Duo were all conversing currently as well.

The room felt so warm and full of life. Ami hadn't felt happy for a while and the relief of having her friends was unexplainable.

"Your coffee?"

Ami glanced up sharply at Heero's voice, stopping watch of her friends and glancing at the mug he had extended towards her.

"Oh, thank you," she said genuinely, seeing that he had already added milk into her coffee. Now just some sugar. She glanced around the counter for it, remembering that Haruka had taken it to the table.

"I already added the sugar. Two spoons."

Ami nodded, unsure of why Heero knowing exactly how she liked her coffee had suddenly hit her so hard. Heero watched her carefully, reading her like a book she was sure, before he turned and headed to the table to give Duo his coffee.

She felt Minako's gaze on her, and turned to glance at her warily, knowing her friend noticed everything.

"You met him at the office?" Minako inquired lightly, sipping her own coffee.

"No......actually he lives next door at my apartment. I met him the day before I realized he worked with me."

Minako nodded again, controlling the expressions on her face. "Well he's totally in love with you. He even just looks at you different than everyone else. You would have blushed scarlet had you been conscious in the car yesterday. He cares about you a lot."

Ami blushed. "Mina, don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not. Oh my God, you're totally hot for him. Wow, I am behind. This is a work in progress, isn't it?"

"Minako, please. We'll talk later," Ami stressed as Quatre approached. Minako shrugged nonchalantly, taking another sip of her coffee and smiling at Quatre.

Ami escaped, going to sit at the table with the rest of her friends. Usagi spun around to face her suddenly.

"Ami, I almost forgot!"

"Hmmm?"

Usagi was suddenly on top of Ami, arms wrapped around her tightly, more strong than Ami could have imagined her to be in her weakened state.

"Usagi, what's wrong?" Ami questioned, trying to pry Usagi's steal grip off of her.

"Thank you."

Ami tipped her head at her princess, who pulled away and stared at her quite seriously. "You took a bullet for Mamoru. I know you didn't just do it for him, you did it for me and Rini and I just don't know how to thank you enough."

Ami opened her mouth to speak, blanking about what to say. Why was the room so quiet? Perhaps it was time for them to get to the office.

"You're welcome Usagi," she said finally. ".....I mean there was no thanks necessary, so you don't need to bring it up again."

Usagi gazed at her friends face, eyeing her faint blush and nodding. "You've got it."

"We should get going to the office," Quatre said from the counter. "I believe they'll interview us and then you Ami. Then you'll have to work at least a couple of hours- unless you don't feel well."

"I'm fine," Ami said, standing and taking her mug to the sink. She glanced back at her friends. "I'll be back in a few hours. Relax until then, so we can talk."

"I hope you mean talk action, because we have to take that group out now before they gain any more strength," Haruka commented, glancing up at her from where she was sitting.

"We do," Wufei supplied. "We just need the force to do it. We'll try to detain our offices from launching an investigation until we can figure things out amongst ourselves."

The pilots headed for the door, the girls waving goodbye, before Trowa paused at the door. He was a man of few words but he wanted to get something across.

"I don't mean to make you feel trapped, but I wouldn't go outside right now. For all we know they have agents searching for you now. We're all keeping a low profile when leaving the office too. You're safe inside as long as they don't figure out where you are, and if you want some fresh air then I`m sure you`ll be safe in the yard- it`s gated."

Everyone nodded, understanding perfectly and having no desire to be back in captivity.

* * *

"Thank you for coming in and seeing us Miss Mizuno, you still don't look well," the human resources representative began somewhat tensely.

Ami sat before the manager of their headquarters and the human resources representative, the last to be questioned after the pilots. This questioning, and that of the pilots, would hopefully delay any kind of Preventers investigation until they could get their own plan of action together.

There were issues to be discussed of course. After Kaden had shown up in the office, there had been an attack. The secretaries had probably been questioned and had told them about the suspicious man. Furthermore, their employees were injured on the clock and in the office, and Setsuna was not an employee and had been seen there.

"The other woman that was in the office: who was she and why was she there?"

Ami looked at the manager, speaking and relating her story to match that of the other pilots.

"I believe that she promised Mr. Yuy and the others a lead on the Dark Alliance."

"Have you seen this woman since then?"

"No, in fact I believe she refuses to speak to the preventers again after the attack."

The manager nodded, and spoke again.

"Did you know that man that came into the office and later attacked all of you?"

"Not personally."

"Do you have any affiliations with the Dark Alliance, past or present?"

"No."

"Thank you for your patience Miss Mizuno," the human resources representative cut in on the manager, needing to get to the more important legal issues in the matter. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better, thank you."

"May I ask if there is anything we can do for you? I'm sure you're well aware that, since the attack occurred on company property, we are responsible."

"I am, and there's nothing I need," Ami assured the woman.

The woman nodded. "Well if you need to leave early today, you're more than welcome to. This is my card." The woman passed it over. "Please contact me if there is anything you want to talk about."

Ami nodded, smiling. "Thank you. I'll get back to work now."

She headed back down to the floor she worked on, noticing that the pilots were clustered around the secretaries desks.

"Ami, how'd it go?" Stacey asked brightly.

"Fine, they were really just concerned about my welfare," Ami assured her, taking a seat at her desk tiredly.

"Still not feeling well, huh?" Layanna questioned from where she was conversing with Duo.

"I'm okay. They told me to feel free to leave if I didn't feel well later."

Heero nodded, having known that they would push for Ami to go home sick or leave early. After all, if she tried to sue, the company could say that they had accommodated for her as best as they could.

* * *

They left four hours later, at one, after the pilots tied up any left over work. The secretaries waved goodbye pleasantly, and Ami felt fear strike her for her newly made friends as she wondered if any agents would try to come back to the office.

Heero pulled his car up to the front, keeping watch that no one was following any of them to Quatre's estate.

Ami quickly got in, the group taking off towards Quatre's place. She wondered if her friends had been given enough of a chance to all freshen up and get ready.

They pulled into the back, all of them entering from the back door and finding the kitchen empty.

"Girls?" Ami called, wondering if they were still wrestling over the shower. Not that it would be a problem- she was sure Quatre's large estate would have made the process easy.

"Ami, you're back early," Michiru's soft and melodic voice floated into the room. Quatre headed into the living room, Ami following him through the formal double doors.

"Hello, you all look refreshed," Ami offered with a smile. Haruka and Michiru had showered and changed, the clothing probably having come from Quatre's sisters closets. It was very much to their taste, Michiru in a knee length skirt and button up pale blue blouse and Haruka had selected a pair of beige dress pants and a pinstriped button up green blouse. Hotaru sat with them, her hair slightly damp from the shower and wearing a fresh set of clothes as well, black leggings with an oversized apricot coloured sweatshirt. The three were having tea, looking like the image of collectedness, and Michiru stood and offered to bring all of them some.

Quatre chuckled, smiling.

"You three are going to be very easy house guests to have around," he said. "Is it me or did you clean up a bit too? The house looks amazing."

"Just tidied up a bit. It is important that we do our share," Haruka said, smiling down at Hotaru.

"Well, she means that me and Michiru do our share while she dictates," Hotaru corrected with a light laugh, Haruka smirking and ruffling Hotaru's hair.

"I'll grab the tea pot and some more glasses," Michiru said, heading into the kitchen while the pilots and Ami spread out amongst the remaining couches of the living room. Michiru brought the tea back, everyone having a mug and speaking about light topics while they waited on the remaining girls and for Setsuna to arrive.

"Where are the girls? It's taking a while," Ami muttered the last part, setting down her mug on the coaster in front of her and glancing at Heero, who was seated quietly next to her on the couch. He was observing Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru- not suspiciously but she realized that he was always trying to figure out people upon meeting them.

He shrugged at her words. "I'm sure they'll be down soon."

A loud thud and a shriek sounded from upstairs. Heero, Quatre, and Trowa stood up in alarm, Wufei and Duo glancing at each other.

Ami instead put her face in her hands, beginning to apologize. The sounds of Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru laughing also filled the room, and the pilots sat down confusedly.

"Quatre, I'm so sorry. I'll pay for whatever they broke," Ami promised, removing her face from her hands, embarrassed.

"Not to worry Ami," Quatre said, more than able to afford anything that the girls broke in the house.

"Ami! Are you here?"

Makoto's voice sounded from upstairs. Ami stood, approaching the stairs but not needing to go up as Makoto appeared at the top of the steps. She came down quickly, dressed in a pair of light washed low riding flair jeans and an emerald green off the shoulder sweatshirt.

"Ames! Usagi and Rei were arguing and-"

Makoto spun around to see that everyone else was seated in the living room and blushed lightly, before laughing sheepishly and placing her hand behind her head in embarrassment.

"Oh hello! I see you're all back, how was work?"

The pilots all voiced their hello's, Haruka stifling another laugh with a sip of tea. Hotaru looked like she was itching to jump from her seat and goof off with the other girls, but remained seated with her guardians all the same. Ami watched the girl carefully, having forgotten that she was already fourteen and in the age where she was bound to break from her shell.

Turning to look at Makoto, she smiled.

"I'll come up with you Mako. No need to be subtle by the way, everyone heard."

Duo laughed, watching as Ami headed up with her friend. Trowa stared after the pair, a thoughtful expression on his face, before turning to listen to Duo.

"Ami's friends are fun," he mused out loud. "Especially Rei."

"Well I'd be careful about how much you pester Rei," Haruka warned from where she sat. "Rei will burn you alive."

Hotaru and Michiru chuckled, Duo rolling his eyes at the light threat.

Wufei smirked. "You need a woman who will put you in your place, not faun over you like the onnas in the office," he said.

Ami came downstairs a couple of minutes later with Makoto once more. She sat next to Heero, Makoto taking the available seat next to Trowa, who nodded at her in greeting.

Everyone in the room was busy with their own conversations, so Heero spoke with Ami. "Are your friends almost ready?"

She nodded. "Yes, and they said they want to tell us all about the Dark Alliance base and their plans. I hope the Preventers hold off on their investigation for a little while, or else a lot more blood could be shed if troops were sent in first."

"Or cause the unsteady alliances formed between certain nations and colonies to deteriorate. Since the group has unknown origins it will become a game of who to blame and then someone stupid will call a plan of action launching us into another long war."

"It doesn't have to be like that. Why would the other nations or colonies call war on each other when the Preventers, who are under the Alliance, have been investigating this group for a while?"

"Ami, the war wasn't over that long ago. Bad people will wait for the right opportunity, something big enough to create a stir, like the power of this group. Then the propaganda will began, followed by the masses forces governments to take action, and then someone will mess up and we will be in a war."

Ami pursed her lips. "Even if the Preventers look into it, I don't think we'll have a problem unless they send some of their men in and get them killed. That's my worry."

"Ami, you're missing the bigger picture," Heero stated, shaking his head. "You're worrying about some Preventers troops being killed, but think about how much more chaos could be created from the situation at hand."

"No, you're missing the more important picture," Ami stated. "If we concerned ourselves with the lives of every individual Preventers agent investigating the Dark Alliance, if we were able to stop any more bloodshed on the part of the Dark Alliance and halt all of the damage they are doing kidnapping people, or stopped their random bloody attacks, we would be working for the greater good. Not the other way around."

Heero frowned, Ami's innocent mentality differing greatly from his own. "That's naive, Ami."

Ami glared at him. "Now caring about individual lives in naivety?"

Heero nodded. "In this case, yes."

"Every single human life has value," Ami responded.

They were aware of everyone else in the room watching them a moment later, Michiru's soft voice cutting in.

"I used to have Heero's opinion too Ami, until we were taught it didn't work."

Ami looked up at the woman, and around the room, seeing that this was the kind of room where several torn opinions about the topic laid.

"Michiru, no offense, but as far as I know you and Haruka are of that opinion," Makoto cut in unsurely. Hotaru looked down, knowing what they were talking about. Both cases specifically involved her.

Michiru touched her shoulder lightly, speaking. "Care to explain Haruka?"

Haruka nodded. "Michiru and I have been on differing sides of opinion with the inner Senshi from the moment we met them. Don't get me wrong; we always liked them as people. However we found them to be as you said Heero, naive or inexperienced in battle. Especially when it came to the idea of human life. The first enemy we faced with the inner Senshi, we had fragile alliances. Michiru and I were looking for the exact same thing out enemies were, a pure heart crystal that would save the world from our enemy, mistress nine. The enemy would extract it from people by force, and when they didn't have it, try to eliminate them. We would show up at the scene where the Senshi were fighting and check the crystals, and when they were found to be nothing we would return them to the owners. A person couldn't live without them. The issue was that the person carrying the pure heart crystal would have to die for us to be able to save the world. The Senshi all disagreed with our methods, particularly Usage. Then another complication arose, it being that Hotaru here," Haruka nodded at Hotaru. "Was our enemy. The evil we were fighting, Mistress 9, was within Hotaru. Hotaru's body was frail and her father was one of Mistress Nine's head workers, subjecting his daughter to the evil. When we found out the evil was in Hotaru, we tried to kill her a few times. One of the times, Ami wouldn't allow it and it caused a huge disagreement amongst the group. Usagi also wouldn't allow us to touch the girl, and Usagi ended up having the pure heart crystal we needed in the end. Had the inner Senshi not fought against us in our every turn, I hate to admit it, but the situation would most likely not have ended smoothly and Hotaru would be dead."

The pilots nodded at the complex story, sure that all of the Senshi's stories were this complex as they involved things outside the normal realm of fighting.

"Yes, that is how Hotaru came into our lives, but I'm afraid that situation didn't really change our methods for fighting for the greater good above individual lives. We....." Michiru paused, not sure if she wanted to tell the next story. Makoto nodded in support at her from across the room, Hotaru touching her hand. Michiru nodded. "We were fighting out last enemy, Galaxia and ultimately Chaos about six years ago. The....the battle got really bad. Chaos was going to destroy the world. Mamoru was dead, and unknown to us, had been dead an entire year when Usagi thought he was away at school. There were also other fighters we met, the starlights, and we were all facing down Galaxia. Chaos wasn't a force to be messed with. It was a combination of the evil in the heart of man, the strongest evil in the galaxy. When we were facing off with Galaxia, Ami, Makoto, Rei and Minako were killed defending the starlights. The event set us back. Everyone was upset and troubled, blaming each other, Haruka and I blaming the starlights, and we didn't know what to do. It was the end of the line, either we destroyed chaos or the world was history. We told Sailor Moon, who was completely in shock at the time, that us outer Senshi, myself, Haruka, Hotaru, and Setsuna, would go face Galaxia until she and the others were able. Galaxia had an easy way of killing everyone. She would take your star seed, one shot and you were dead. Haruka and I, once facing her, told her that we wanted to join her instead. Saturn and Pluto were shocked; they knew in their hearts that we had other intentions and were trying to figure it out. Galaxia gave us these wrist bands that allowed us some of her superior power and what she also thought would control our minds. Proving our allegiance to Galaxia, we...." she paused, but finished her sentence. "We killed Pluto and Saturn."

Silence set across the room, but Michiru continued, needing to get to the point. "Sailor moon and the starlights emerged to find Pluto and Saturn dead. We turned on Galaxia and tried to kill her the same way and take her star seed, but it turned out that, powered by Chaos, she didn't even have a star seed. Galaxia's star seed, all of the good in her and the good in man, was with us in the form of a child. When we turned on Galaxia, she killed us, surprised that her mind controlling wristbands didn't work...and we knew it was all for nothing. Our die hard methods had been taken so far that we had been willing to kill our best friends to save the rest of the world and destroy Chaos. We could only beg for Sailor Moon to forgive our tactics as we died. Eventually Sailor Moon and the others destroyed Galaxia and chaos and Sailor Moon brought all of us back- but we'll always have to live with how far we were willing to go for 'the greater good.'"

"That's- that's terrible," Duo said. "You're telling me that in every situation, Sailor Moon and the others were set on solving it without some kind of loss?"

Everyone nodded, Hotaru speaking up. "There are always other ways."

Seeing as Michiru and Haruka felt awkward at their admonition, Quatre spoke up.

"I made my share of mistakes in the war…..and then some. Mistakes that had much more serious repercussions….and I have to live with them. Thank you for sharing your mistakes with us, but I'm more than ashamed to admit mine." Quatre was referring to when the zero system had caused him to accidentally destroy a colony. It had taken him a long time to retrain on his Gundam after the incident and his friends had helped him.

Understanding passed through the group in the room, a comfortable atmosphere filling it once more.

Heero glanced down at Ami. He remembered from when Ami had first explained everything to them at the hotel a little about the battle with Galaxia, although she hadn't gone into this detail with him and the others. Also, she had mentioned dying and being brought back, but hearing it like this was a little more disturbing, as though their coming back to life was by chance, by the good fortune that everything was working out okay.

He tried to put himself in Michiru and Haruka's position, fighting Galaxia that day. They had been willing to kill their friends if it meant being able to kill Galaxia for the greater good of everyone else, of the entire Earth. They were horrified by their actions now, but if he had been there at the time- would he have agreed with them? He had killed so many people in the war and seen so many good people die that loss just seemed like a natural part of any kind of fight.

"Wow, this is a depressing conversation," Minako commented from the stairs she was descending. She was wearing a pair of dark navy jeans with a white long sleeved top. "Ladies," she nodded and smiled at all of the women in the room, "Gents." She winked at Quatre, and not missing a beat continued. "How many sisters do you have Quatre? There're so many clothes!"

Quatre chuckled, speaking but being nondescript. "A lot."

Duo snickered, quieting down when Rei and Usagi descended the stairs. Usagi's hair was in her usual style, in a pair of light khaki pants and a light purple sweater. Rei was clad in a pair of black jeans and white and res striped three quarter sleeved top.

Duo stared at her in wonder, Rei blowing him off and sitting next to Makoto. Minako sat between Quatre and Hotaru, tousling Hotaru's hair. Usagi looked for a spot in the full living room, smiling brightly as Ami moved closer to Heero to allow her a seat.

"Thank you!"

She bounded over, her condition a thousand times better than the morning as she sat next to Ami happily, having missed her. Ami didn't miss the glance that Usagi gave Heero, seated next to her. She mentally sighed. So Minako had briefed all of the girls about her and Heero after sharing her theories with Ami that morning.

"So Quatre filled us in on mostly everything we missed the last few weeks," Rei's voice cut through the room, bringing Ami back to reality.

"Then I suppose all we have left is to hear what happened with all of you."

Setsuna's voice sounded from the doorway. She was standing at the double glass doors from the living room, dressed in a lavender skirt that was high waisted stopped mid thigh and white button up blouse.

She smiled in greeting at everyone, entering the room and taking the last available seat, between Wufei and Duo.

Wufei nodded at her, Setsuna offering one of her typically mysterious smiles and turning to look at Usagi.

"I have two hours before I have to be back. Who would like to begin?"

* * *

Ami drank her second cup of tea for the day, wondering if she was becoming a caffeine addict as loud talking and laughter filled the room. It had taken the women about an hour to explain what had occurred at the base, and after the depressing conversation everyone had become rowdy and easily excited, needing to have some fun.

Ami was still troubled by their stories. The missing people on the Dark Alliance lists had not been kidnapped and held as prisoners. They had been used for their energy. It had been described as a gruesome process where they were drained dry, unlike how their other enemies drained energy and simply knocked the people out from it.

Also, the fourth building was a training quadrant for new recruits to the 'security agency.' Every new recruit was given a small vile to drink, a form of hazing as older recruits explained it to them. After drinking, the recruits would immediately become under the control of the agency. The sheer number of recruits was enough to scare Ami off, in about the hundreds, which meant they were innocent civilians that they would have to avoid harming. Plus, they had to get Mamoru out safely too. Also, there were about fifteen higher ranking agents like Kaden, a couple which they had run into when freeing her friends, but the Senshi had no idea exactly how many superiors those agents had. One commander, a few commanders? A few ranks above Kaden? It was all so confusing. The Senshi had also overheard plans for the group to take over the Earth first, using some unfriendly colonies as scapegoats initially until they could conquer the colonies too, hoping to as Heero had mentioned, create an upheaval of the current peace.

Worse yet, was the fact that they had no idea if the enemy had originated from this dimension, with years to build their power quietly during the war torn times, or were newly from the Senshi's dimension and had come here. Quatre had mentioned that the Garderville Security Agency was old, but it was possible that it had simply been infiltrated by the Dark Alliance.

Lastly, Ami was bothered by what her friends had been through. They would leave them in the dark for hours, and then put them in experimentation rooms and force them to use their powers. They would put them under different stresses to see how easily they could be conjured, and also tried to figure out if there was a way to actually take the powers from the Senshi and allow their own agents to train with them. Her friends had mentioned blacking out a lot, not remembering what had happened in the experimentation rooms when situations had become overly stressful on their bodies.

Every single Senshi had, disturbingly enough, remembered seeing one particular superior ranking agent guarding over them. When Ami and the others had explained the situation of them being promised to agents, a mutual disgust had passed through the room, especially because Hotaru, fourteen years old, had also been under watch.

Laughter filled the room once more, Hotaru and Duo goofing off, clicking instantly as friends. Setsuna had said she'd stay with everyone that last hour, before she had to head back and Ami took the inner Senshi to her apartment. She knew Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru wouldn't mind staying at Quatre's in the slightest, and wondered how long it would take them to actually beat this enemy. A few days or a week......perhaps a month? She knew a month was way too long, but perhaps she was wishing for it because she knew she would have to leave Heero.

Not that anything was going on between she and Heero. Or rather, it was but there was no label or title or anything at all because she was leaving soon. Anyways, she was sure he was forced to spend so much time with her because of the situation at hand. Plus, she was sick all the time and constantly relying on or inconveniencing him to take care of her. She was selfish. She glanced over at Heero, who was sitting silently as well, his head rested on his hand, elbow resting on the arm of the couch. Perhaps he was catching some sleep?

She moved to take another sip of her half empty tea, her hand suddenly shaking as a pang of pain shot through her waist and began spreading to her limbs quickly. Not now. Now, when she would worry all of her friends who were finally smiling.

Ami stood carefully, wanting to make it out of the room smoothly and not disturb everyone. Heero glanced up at Ami from where he sat, his eyes narrowing at her hand, clutching the mug of tea she had been given.

"Ami, where are you going?" Usagi questioned from where she sat talking with everyone.

"Just making some more tea," Ami offered smoothly, Usagi nodding and smiling as she turned back to her conversation. Ami continued towards the double glass doors that would lead her out of the living room and into the kitchen, where she would be alone.

Heero's eyes narrowed as the hand Ami held her mug in suddenly shook, the contents of the mug swishing around and a few droplets dripping down the side of the mug. If Ami was anything, it was coordinated.

She exited the room, shutting the glass doors behind her. He stood as well, a few people glancing up at him as well.

"Heero buddy, where are you going?" Duo asked. Scooping his empty mug off the table, he headed for the doors as well.

"Getting more tea," he said blandly, exiting the room and shutting the doors.

He entered the kitchen, setting his mug on the counter as it made a dull thud. Where was Ami? The kitchen was empty.

Walking towards the nook, his pace picked up as he saw her collapsed form hidden behind the table. He could hear as he neared her, her strained breaths and pained groans, and took in her white face and trembling form as he crouched besides her, touching her shoulder lightly. She flinched, her glassy eyes meeting his. He knew immediately that she was in a lot of pain, more than usual.

"I'm okay," she said immediately, trying without success to at least get to her knees, her breaths becoming more erratic. "You can go back, I'll be there soon."

He sighed, scooping her off the floor and sitting leaned against the wall holding her. "I know you're trying to spare your friends any more worry, but you should have at least told me you weren't feeling well."

Her strained breaths seemed worse now that he was holding her so closely, and she clutched her stomach tightly with one of her hands, her other hand unconsciously gripping his shirt as the pain worsened.

She tried to control her pained groans, knowing she was worrying him further with her every action. Her eyes became unfocused, and Heero frowned deeply, wishing he could do something for her.

"Why......are you always so nice to me?" Her strained words shook him from his thoughts, and he glanced down to see that her glassy eyes were watching him.

"If I remember correctly, I was sort of mean to you the first two weeks I knew you," he responded, wondering why she was asking.

A strained chuckle escaped her lips, her breathing worsening. She took a moment to try to calm it, speaking. "No.....I mean I'm always sick; always a bother. I always make you take care of me, always ruin your day.....I'm a constant burden."

Heero met her eyes, hating that she had that opinion of herself. "I never said you were a burden."

"I know," she replied. "You don't have to," she paused, her breaths quickening as she tried to get her words out. "You're here with me now while everyone else is having fun."

Her arm tightened on her stomach, the hand clutching his shirt going white at her knuckles from the force she was holding it. The shaking of her body worsened too, as did her pained sighs and groans.

He tightened his hold on her, wanting to help but virtually able to do nothing. "Ami, did it ever occur to you that I want to be here with you instead of with the others?"

Her eyes focused on his again, trying to forget about the pain. "Why?"

"Do I need to give you a reason?"

He was met with the sound of her pained breaths, so he continues speaking, sensing the distraction helped her forget about the pain. "Your view on human life- on the way to approach the Dark Alliance, it was drastically different than mine. I've never valued life that much when it came down to the greater good in the end. To me, life comes cheap, especially mine."

Her hand that was clutching her stomach suddenly grabbed his arm with more force than he expected, and he glanced at her face, meeting her eyes. "As I said before: every human life has value. That certainly includes yours."

His eyes kept a hold on hers, before he spoke. "You know, I've killed a lot of people. Maybe not all of them were deserving, but in the war I never hesitated to finish a mission. I also made a lot of mistakes. Is my life still worth something now?"

"Yes." He grew silent at her answer, spoken without hesitation, before speaking.

"As to your question about why I'd rather be here with you, that's your answer. You're actually too good a person for me, so when I start bothering you then feel free to tell me goodbye."

"I don't believe that." He closed his eyes at her response, leaning back against the wall.

"There it is again."

* * *

Review, I got it out quick! (and more action next chap. this chap just had to be here to tie stuff up ad set up stuff).


	10. Part 10

Sorry for the wait! I've had a crazy few months! I'm working on finishing Blackout next, so please review and I'll try to start updating regularly.

* * *

Part 10

Ami had, about forty five minutes later, found the strength to stand. After their conversation, Heero had leaned his head against the wall and feigned sleep, just resting his eyes while her breathing began returning to normal.

He watched her now as she stood, hands gripping the table to test her strength, before standing without it. She headed towards the doors leading to the living room, more unsteady than she noticed he was sure but he kept silent and simply stayed close.

Everyone glanced up when she entered the room, Heero at her heels. Ami expected Duo to make a joke about them making out or something along the lines, but everyone simply eyed her apprehensively, hardly pretending not to stare. She passed a mirror and noticed just how pale she was, biting back an aggravated sigh as she realized how obvious it was that she'd had an attack. Heero was hardly half a step behind her, trying to appear nonchalant, although she saw from the corner of her eye his hand hovering near her right arm. Also, as she passed the mirror, it was clear that she was walking slower than she had imagined. Her efforts not to worry anyone were wasted.

Had she not been pale from the attack she would have been blushing furiously at the attention she was receiving from everyone. Ami sat back on the couch, shooting Heero a thankful smile, and turning to stare at her friends.

"You were more talkative an hour ago."

* * *

The Inners departed that night, the Outers staying with Quatre at his estate as planned. Setsuna headed to the time gates, and Duo and Heero drove them back to Heero's apartment, Duo waving and heading home as well.

It was only about six in the afternoon as Ami and the pilots had left work at one.

"Ami, this apartment is nice," Usagi mused, her and Minako rushing into the elevator with a chuckling Makoto at their heels. Rei smirked, walking besides Ami and Heero.

"I hope they think so, because we're going to be spending a lot of time inside until we beat this enemy."

Ami nodded at Rei's words. "Agreed. I wonder if it would be easier on us to just move to a different city these next couple of weeks. That way we won't have to worry about Dark Alliance agents searching the streets for us."

"You're going to have to call the preventers office and quit Ami," Heero said, as the three of them entered the elevator with the others. "Kaden, injured or not, knows where we all work. Myself and the other pilots are thinking of requesting a two week leave from the office. I'm also making sure with the staff that any records on us, like numbers or our addresses, are destroyed until we get this sorted out. As Kaden attacked us on company property, it's the protocol they would recommend taking anyways."

Ami nodded. "I suppose that is good enough for now, since we're safe in our homes."

"I think that living in a different city is pointless too," Rei pointed out. "They'll have agents stationed all over anyways since it is still technically a running security agency. That means that all of their agents have information on us and possibly pictures. We'd likely be spotted anywhere."

Heero nodded at the dark haired girls words. "I'll call the other pilots and arrange our temporary leave from work. I'll also make sure that no investigation into the Dark Alliance is done without us. Call the office tomorrow morning and quit Ami." They headed down the hall of the fifth floor, Ami pulling out her keys and unlocking the apartment door. The girls filed inside, easily excited by the place and Usagi asking Makoto to cook for her.

Minako paused at the doorway, a devilish smile crossing her face as she noted that Heero was unlocking the apartment right next door. Ami shooed Minako in, knowing what she was getting at, and paused outside her door, approaching Heero.

"If Makoto's cooking it'll be a shame for you to miss it. Do you want to come by later?"

Heero paused at the invite. He already spent a lot of time with Ami, so that wasn't it. Her nosy friends he also didn't mind, as they were full of life and energy and made Ami come alive as well. His hesitation was because he actually could not remember the last time he'd been offered a home cooked meal. As his culinary skills also weren't great, he relied on toast and eggs much of the time, occasionally putting together a salad or grilling a burger.

He nodded once, realizing he had taken a long time to respond and that Ami was looking at him sort of funny. A soft smile took over her face and she nodded. "Okay, in about an hour? You can get to know the girls better!"

He nodded again, seeing her this happy actually taking his breath away momentarily. She really hadn't been very happy at all, not since he'd known her. Why did she have to leave when this was over? His body moved before he registered what he was doing, leaning down and forcing Ami to take a step backwards against the door as he gave her a scorching kiss, his hand snaking around her waist and her hand grabbing his shoulder.

A few moments later she was shifting slightly. "Heero," she mumbled against his lips. "Stop."

He paused, pulling away slightly and smirking.

"Why?"

"The girls are watching," she responded although she hadn't been looking at her door.

There was a loud clatter followed by Usagi's cry as the women tried to run from the doorway of Ami's apartment, and she chuckled, blushing lightly.

"Sorry."

He smiled a bit more broadly than usual. "They're about as high energy as Duo," he noted seriously, Ami agreeing.

"Well then we'll try to keep it down. I know how easily you become irritated with Duo."

Heero's response, spoken in his usual monotone but somewhat softer than usual, made her smile at its simplicity. "He's my best friend."

The two waved, Ami heading into the apartment and shutting her door. Heero did the same, leaning against the doorway once he was inside. He was changing. He had been changing slowly ever since the war had ended, trying to speak more or not scare people off as much. It had been a very slow change, that was for sure. However he had continued to change much more drastically in the last few weeks. She was changing him. He felt somewhat happier too. Less depressed or bored of his usual ritual. Less cynical, although that would probably take much more time. More inclined to speak, or laugh, or be with people. He wondered if that would go away when she left.

Ami glared lightly at her friends when she entered her apartment, although they were all through with trying to pretend that they hadn't been watching and were instead grinning at her slyly.

Minako broke the silence first, approaching her with a smug smile.

"My my, you two are hot and heavy, more so than I thought. Allow me to fan you to cool you off!" Minako fanned Ami with her hands as she spoke, causing the woman to blush scarlet.

"Mina...."

"This is too cute!" Usagi gushed, the next at her side as Ami was dragged to the couch and interrogated. "Mina tried to fill us in a bit earlier but damn," Usagi rarely swore and Minako was nodding in agreement.

"He's cute Ames, good job," Makoto said, nodding in approval and adding "mmmhhmmm" as Usagi and Minako gushed.

"Hey guys, cut Ami some slack," Rei lectured, beating the girls off of Ami and sitting next to her. Ami sighed in relief, going white a moment later and then bright red as Rei spoke. "So have you slept with him?"

"Rei!" She hissed, wondering how thick the walls between her and Heero's apartment were. "Of course not. That's not me."

"What? They were all thinking it, I'm just the only one who got to the point. Right Mako?"

"Right," Makoto agreed, but finally decided to spare Ami further agony. "Ames, do you have food in the fridge for me to cook?"

Ami nodded. "Yes, I invited Heero in about an hour?"

"Oh we know," Minako assured her, Ami glaring as the women dashed off to check out the rest of the apartment. She knew they would definitely be excited when they found all the clothes Setsuna had provided for her, now for all of them.

A few screams of joy clarified her suspicions, a smile gracing her features as she followed them into the room. She had definitely missed having her friends around.

* * *

"It was really good getting to know Heero yesterday Ami," Minako said, applying some blush that morning as they prepared to head out of the apartment. "He's the silent type but it was obvious he was trying for you. He's got kind of a subtle sarcastic humor too- that you have to pay attention to if you want to catch. So who else is driving us all to Quatre's?"

"Duo I think," Makoto said, pausing in her application of her mascara and glancing at Rei, who was brushing her hair. "Right, Rei?"

Rei glared daggers at Makoto, Usagi chuckling and poking her, joining in the fun. "Don't get mad, he might be your future husband!"

"As if," Rei seethed, Ami chuckling. They were headed to Quatre's to talk strategy yet again. She had called the office and quit that morning. The Preventers had told her that they understood, probably assuming she had been scared off from the office attack. She had also taken a few minutes to call the other girls at the office and say goodbye, for two reasons. Firstly, because they had always been so good to her. Secondly, because she wanted everyone in the office to understand that she no longer worked there and that the pilots were on temporary leave. This was for their protection, so that if Kaden or any other agents were snooping, they would leave the office workers alone.

A light knocking on the door paused Ami in touching up her hair.

"That's Heero, so Duo must be downstairs."

Ami headed to the door, tugging down on her three quarter sleeved pale yellow shirt, sitting on her dark wash skinny jeans which Ami had avoided wearing because they were too low. Her friends had however spotted them and she was now stuck.

Pulling open the door, Ami smiled at Heero, her smile widening when he bent down and kissed her forehead lightly, speaking as he stepped past her.

"Morning."

The action was very natural and seemed almost second nature from the man she had considered to be the coldest person she had ever encountered only two weeks before.

"Good morning," she offered. "Is Duo downstairs?"

Heero nodded. "Are the others ready?"

"Yes we are," Usagi said, entering the room and waving. The other girls filed out, all offering greetings as Ami grabbed her apartment's key.

"Alright then, let's head out."

They headed downstairs, Duo waving from his car. He had the top up now, so he lowered the window and winked at Rei. "You coming with me?"

Rei rolled her eyes, but glared when she realized that Usagi, Ami, and Heero had already walked away from them to Heero's car.

She climbed in the front, simply nodding at Duo as Minako and Makoto snickered and got in the back.

Duo's car pulled out ahead of Heero's, Heero following behind Duo and pretty sure they weren't being followed. They drove for about five minutes, Heero focusing more on the road than the conversation as Ami and Usagi discussed his dimension. Usagi was being filled in briefly on the Preventers and the Alliance when a loud crash reached their ears.

"What was that?" Ami asked, spinning around in her seat to face the front and gasping as she saw that Duo's car was crashing on the sidewalk about a hundred meters ahead, flipping upside down.

Usagi screamed at the sight, Heero accelerating to approach the other car while Ami tried to see if anyone had attacked the area. She didn't see anyone there....

The car suddenly jerked to the right, Ami and Usagi screaming as it seemed to leave the ground a few seconds before being thrown backwards, the sound of the cars roof hitting the pavement more deafening then Ami would have imagined.

Above the street, two men floated above the cars. General Ryder smirked at the sight of the foliage beneath him, Kaden keeping less cool as he snarled at the cars. He was still a bit injured from when the pilots had nearly killed him, knowing Heero was in the second car and itching to make him suffer.

"Lucky that they were here," Ryder mused. "Good timing."

"Bad timing," a voice snarled, the two turning to see Mamoru floating next to them. "There are so many witnesses here and you two morons are in Garderville Security uniforms!"

"No one asked you, you brainwashed dog," Kaden responded, the three breaking into argument above the scene.

Ami groaned, trying to see clearly as the world around her spun. She could feel blood trickling down her face, from a scrape on her forehead, but was otherwise unaware of how injured she or anyone else was.

A million thoughts ran through her mind. Who of their enemy had attacked them? Were they still around or hiding? Were they terrorizing their friends in the other car? Had a civilian already called the police? They couldn't go to the hospital lest they search for them there.

"H-Heero," she groaned, met with silence in the car. "Usagi?"

She had to get out of the car and assess how badly everyone was hurt. Currently they were all suspended upside down, held by their seat belts as the car was upside down. Her hands fumbled, trembling as she reached for the buckle of her seat belt. Her head was throbbing worse now, and she felt a lot of pain but still couldn't pinpoint where she was hurt.

Finally managing to undo the seat belt, she gasped as she fell out of the seat and amongst the glass bits on the roof of the car. She got to her knees, trying to focus but too dizzy as she spoke lightly.

"Heero?"

She touched his face, noticing the blood on his cheek but not sure how much worse he was hurt. She looked in the back, where Usagi was unconscious but didn't seem to be bleeding from anywhere, the seat belt holding her in the seat.

The other car was far ahead still, and Ami didn't hear any noise coming from them as she tried to see out the broken windshield the distance to the car.

Crawling to her passengers side window, Ami kicked out the remaining glass, wanting to get out of the car. Unfortunately, the choice was made for her as a pair of hands suddenly grabbed her ankles, pulling her out of the car despite her cry as she was scraped against all of the glass and debris.

"I finally caught you," Kaden seethed, Mamoru and Ryder also standing around their car, ignoring the other car for now. Mamoru looked more apprehensive than the other two, complaining to Ryder quietly as Kaden bent next to Ami and looked through the window.

"There's he is," Kaden said, spotting Heero. "...and the princess." Ryder perked up at Usagi being in the car, Mamoru also taking notice.

Kaden reached into the car, Ami panicking and trying to get to her knees once more, feeling her wounds from the accident more now as she saw it was impossible.

"Stop, leave him alone!" She shouted, gasping as Ryder stepped on her back. "Shut up. My chest still hurts where you stabbed me. Don't think I've forgotten."

Kaden ignored her, snapping Heero's seat belt like it was a piece of floss and dragging his unmoving body out of the window next to Ami. Ami grabbed Heero's arm when he was out of the car, shaking him in hopes of waking him, but Heero remained unconscious.

Ryder picked her up by her arm, dropping her a few feet from Heero. "Don't touch him. He's a goner anyways."

A feeling of nausea shot through her stomach, pain beginning to spread through her limbs as she began to cough where she lay. With perfect timing as always, she was having an attack. Thoughts of why it usually occurred at inopportune times ran through her head, but she couldn't coherently put them together as blood began to coat her hands, the coughing never ending.

Ryder's laughter filled her ears, although she was too dizzy to look up. "Hey Kaden, I thought your girl was just getting sick from those attacks but I think she's dying."

Kaden turned from Heero to glare incredulously at Ryder. From behind Ryder, Mamoru snorted. "Impossible. Her powers aren't supposed to increase that much at one time, hence why she survives every attack. It takes a year until the freeze. If they were increasing more than the norm, then maybe you'd have a point."

"Yes," Kaden agreed, nodding and moving towards Heero again.

"Unless-" Ryder interjected once more, grabbing Ami's arm and turning her over with no resistance on her part. "-you consider the fact that time is moving differently."

Ami tried to ignore their comments, coughing up a lot more blood than the norm and feeling like she was suffocating. They ignored her as well, continuing with their conversation.

Mamoru glanced over at Ryder questioningly, surprise filling his eyes. Kaden froze where he stood as well, turning and staring from where Ami lay, to the car where Usagi was still suspended upside down in her seatbelt, and then moving on to look at Mamoru.

"That's right. Your......kingdom," he acknowledged.

Mamoru's mouth sagged open slightly at Kaden, before he glanced into the car at Usagi once more. His face was hard but his eyes betrayed him. Ami watched him tiredly from where she lay. Was the brainwashing on Mamoru wearing off? What did they mean by the time moving differently? What about the kingdom? Her head throbbed painfully from her attack, and she let it hit the ground, groaning.

Ryder stepped in front of Mamoru, glaring at him now as he indicated at Usagi in the car. "She was promised to me."

"I know," Mamoru snapped, turning away.

Kaden ignored the two men, crouching besides Heero. "Screw you both, you're pissing me off. Let me just finish this pest and we're out of here with the Senshi." Black lightening began to crackle around Kaden's hand. "He won't even feel a thing. Lucky bastard."

Ami screamed, but different voices mixed in with hers. "Garderville Security?"

There were pedestrians and other drivers beginning to approach the cars. They had immediately taken notice of the uniform, Ami realized, as Garderville Security deployed hundreds of agents in the area.

Immediately Kaden stopped his assault, backing next to Ryder and Mamoru as people began to pull out their cell phones across the street to call for help.

"I told you," Mamoru seethed. "We're leaving. Now. Let's check the hospitals for them later."

The three men ran into the alley before they disappeared, Ami crawling over to Heero and shaking him again. From within the car, she heard a gasp, and Usagi was unbuckling herself and then crawling out the window, groaning.

"Ames, are you two alright? There's so much blood...did you have an attack?" Usagi suddenly grabbed her chest beneath her rib cage, gasping in pain when she tried to get off the ground. It was likely that her seat belt had broken a few of her ribs.

Ami looked up, her vision bleary, spotting her friends by the other car. Duo was kneeling by Rei, checking on her while on his phone. He was likely wounded as well. Ami was sure he was calling for help from the pilots for a ride before an ambulance arrived. They did not need to be caught in a hospital. Minako and Makoto were leaned back to back, Makoto's head in her hands and Minako looking only half conscious.

Heero stirred from next to her, groaning loudly and grabbing his head as he got to his knees.

"What happened?" He asked, glancing around the area in confusion a moment before looking down at where Ami lay. Usagi was calling out to Duo, who was struggling over, carrying Rei despite the fact that he seemed badly injured himself. Minako and Makoto were supporting each other, and Duo spoke as he approached.

"Trowa is a minute away with the van."

Pedestrians looked on confusedly, not knowing how to help, but Usagi could hear the sound of sirens in the distance. "I hope they're as close as you say."

Heero touched her face lightly. "Are you okay?" He stared at the amount of blood soiling her shirt, frowning. It was more than usual.

She nodded, wanting to get off the ground but unable to. She reached a shaky hand to her mouth, wiping it of the remaining blood, and allowed it to slip to the ground. Her chest felt heavy, more than normal after an attack, and she struggled to breathe.

Makoto, still approaching and supporting Minako, crumpled to the floor. Minako gasped, reaching down to catch her and instead growing dizzy and collapsing as well, blood covering her waist.

Rei was completely unconscious, some blood on her head and neck from what Ami could see where she lay. She was sure her friends were all more injured than she knew, but her world was currently spinning and she couldn't focus.

Trowa's van pulled up between the two destroyed cars, and he leapt from the car, taking action quickly as the sirens neared them. Duo hurried towards the van as fast as he currently could with a pained nod at Trowa, sitting down in the passengers seat and keeping Rei on his lap to save room inside. Trowa looked worried as he grabbed the unconscious Makoto off the floor, hurrying towards the van and returning to grab the mumbling and sighing form of Minako off the ground. He returned, grabbing Usagi off the ground as pedestrians began to shift and question what was happening. Sighing, Trowa pulled out his Preventers badge and asked them to step back, returning to the van with Usagi. Ami was only aware that she was being lifted off the ground when she suddenly felt cold, realizing that Heero was swiftly heading to the van. He was limping, and she wondered how wounded he was although he refused to show it, getting in the last seat and holding onto her.

Trowa pulled out quickly, driving far too fast for their liking although it was necessary to clear the area. Ami wasn't sure how long it took, but they were soon pulling into the gate of Quatre's estate, and it shut behind them as they pulled into the back.

Ami realized that Trowa had called Quatre's ahead of time as Wufei and Quatre were waiting in the back for the van, Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna standing behind them and Hotaru watching worriedly from the back door.

The vans side doors were hurriedly pulled open, as Trowa carefully grabbed Makoto off of the seat and rushed inside. Duo got out of the front, limping towards the back door with Rei in tow. Michiru grabbed Rei from Duo, Setsuna catching Duo as he collapsed. Hotaru quickly grabbed Duo's other arm, the two helping him inside. Haruka carried Usagi inside with a frown marring her features, muttering angrily to Quatre about the situation, who was picking up Minako and looking quite concerned.

Ami felt delirious as someone lifted her from the van, and she realized that Wufei was pulling her from Heero as Setsuna, who had come back outside, was helping Heero out of the van carefully. Setsuna also looked angry when Ami saw her face, and she was muttering furiously about the Dark Alliance from what Ami understood.

She could hear a lot of talking and a lot of ruckus in the house, but didn't stay conscious long after Wufei set her on a bed upstairs.

* * *

Ami turned in the bed she was laying on, pain shooting up her waist and causing her to gasp. With the adrenaline from the accident now well worn off, she knew whatever wound she had received on her side was deep. She hoped the effects from her attack were over. She wondered how everyone else was doing and how seriously they had been wounded. Running her hand over her face, she felt a patch on her forehead. Her friends had done their best to patch them up. She knew it was enough for her and the rest of the Inners but she hoped that Duo and Heero were doing alright.

What time was it? They had departed from the house at around ten that day, so how long had she been knocked out?

Spotting a clock in the room she lay in, she frowned. It was only noon. It was likely that the Outers and other pilots had barely just sat down if they had patched everyone up.

Ami wasn't tired at all and despite the pain she was in she couldn't bare laying in bed any longer. She needed to know what was going on. Grasping the edges of the bed, she stood, her head a bit better but still a bit dizzy. Exiting the room while supporting herself on the walls, she saw that she had been laid on the second floor, and could hear voices from downstairs.

"-transporting from house to car isn't even safe! What do we do, lock ourselves inside one place and hope they don't find a different way to trace us?" Haruka exclaimed. Setsuna was calmly sipping from a cup of tea, watching Haruka passively. Wufei was seated next to Setsuna, smirking at her overly calm demeanor. Next to Wufei sat Quatre, and next to Quatre were Michiru and Hotaru. Trowa was frowning next to Haruka, although he looked preoccupied with something else.

"What we actually need is to defeat them before they kill us or before the Preventers go in. A few witnesses to the attack saw the agents in Garderville Security uniforms. The information got back to Preventers headquarters immediately and now they want to put together a team to investigate. I just got off the phone with a friend at the Preventers and he told me that the Preventers won't hold out for more than another three or four days. I'm starting to think that we won't be able to avoid bringing in some Preventers troops."

"Garderville Security issued an apology and said that they are investigating the rogue agents as well, but I don't think it'll stop the preventers," Wufei said thoughtfully.

"Well, not to bring up risking any more human life, but perhaps we will need the assistance of the Preventers troops. After all, there are many innocent members of the Dark Alliance who are brainwashed to work at the Garderville Security. They need to be taken down by soldiers, not Sailor Senshi," Michiru said. Her words hung in the air a few moments, everyone thinking over what she had said.

Taking the stairs slowly, she saw that the Outers were in the living room with all of the Gundam Pilots. Surprised that Duo and Heero were alright, she entered the room, smiling and nodding at everyone before turning to assess Duo and Heero. They looked tired and had some cuts from the broken glass, but otherwise seemed fine.

"Ami, glad you're up," Quatre said.

"Thank you." She turned to Heero and Duo, frowning. "Are you two alright?"

Heero nodded, watching her warily. Knowing him better than she would have guessed, Ami sat down, watching as he visibly relaxed. She was sure she had just been standing a bit unsteadily, then again Heero noticed everything. Duo responded.

"Yeah Ames. Hotaru healed me and Heero's larger wounds."

Hotaru blushed lightly, Haruka speaking. "Well Ames, you ladies have an edge on the Pilots, in that you'll probably be fully healed by tomorrow. It's better that they're not out of commission for a week."

Ami nodded, knowing that while Hotaru didn't have the energy to heal everyone, helping Duo and Heero was hugely important. She hoped the other inners were feeling alright.

Leaning back further into her seat, she realized why everyone was still watching for her as she got a look at her shirt, completely covered in blood. She blushed lightly, beginning to apologize and request a clean shirt from Quatre, before growing pale. The conversation between Kaden, Mamoru, and Ryder came back to her.

"Setsuna," she said, meeting the woman's eyes. "Time is moving differently here?"

Setsuna opened her mouth to speak and closed it, blushing lightly, odd for the confident woman. "I'm.....sorry. I knew it was passing differently, but I didn't realize just how fast until I went back to the gates of time last night."

Everyone looked on curiously, waiting on Setsuna to speak. Haruka and Michiru exchanged worried glances, as implications of what this meant really sank in.

"Setsuna, tell me it's moving slower in our world," Haruka said. Setsuna shook her head.

"Sorry. Faster. Much faster. In the last three weeks almost nine months have passed. In one more week, it will be about time to freeze the earth."

"That is unbelievable," Michiru said, leaning forwards. "Setsuna, Mamoru is still brainashed and we're all still here. Their is no kingdom to create right now. Plus...." She turned to stare at Ami.

Ami frowned, knowing what this meant. "Impossible," was all she offered.

"Is it?" Haruka questioned worriedly, turning to face Setsuna.

"Her body is accumulating the power at an accelerated rate, that's why her attacks are worse. Her body is preparing to freeze the earth a week from now in this time, since our dimensions time is moving so fast."

"Then send Ami back to our dimension," Michiru said. "At least let her body have three more months to accumulate the power instead of a week."

"I can't send her back there unprotected. The Dark Alliance will go after her. They'll find and capture her."

"Setsuna, Ami can't survive gaining all that power in a week," Haruka stated.

"Well I don't know any other solution, and let's be honest, if we don't beat the enemy soon there won't be a need to freeze the earth and create a kingdom. We have to move fast."

From the doorway, Usagi's voice was heard.

"This is unreal."

Ami snapped out of her daze, having begun to tune out the outers' argument.

She looked up at Usagi, speaking. "If it helps, Mamoru still loves you. That much was clear today. We'll get him back and figure all of this out when the time comes."

Usagi nodded, her eyes a bit glassy. Ami frowned at her own words. Figure it out when the time comes- there was no time. They had one week. What did that mean for her?

She glanced over at Heero, whose eyes had been on her the whole time. His face was an unreadable mask as usual, but strangely enough she felt that she knew him well enough to understand that he was angry. She felt a little angry too. Basically, she had one week left with him. Eithr their enemy killed them all, or the accumulation of her powers too quickly would kill her, or they beat the enemy and she survived- but she woudl have to leave him to be frozen in the earth before Crystal Tokyo for centuries.

"Ami."

She looked up at Setsuna.

"Try not to stress yourself at all. Your attacks are happening, more often than not, in battle or in high stress situations like attacks. I think your power accumulates most at those times because your body is acting in its defense. It is essentially useless as you can't use the powers so it's hindering you. I'm not sure it'll make a difference this close to the freeze but you should still be careful."

Ami nodded. She had been wondering about that.

* * *

The other inner senshi had slowly awakened and joined them all in the living room, Quatre ordering in pizza so that no one would have to cook.

Ami, for the last two hours, had been tense and hadn't said much. It was only about two-thirty in the afternoon. The day was moving slow and now that her situation was really sinking in she was feeling trapped in the house, unfortunate because it wasn't safe to leave yet.

She and her friends had changed into some clean clothes and still she felt dirty. Currently, Usagi and Rei were talking with Duo, Setsuna, Wufei, and Hotaru. Haruka and Michiru were seated on the other side of the room in the loveseat, arguing quietly amongst themselves.

Minako and Makoto were lying on the couch tiredly, Quatre and Trowa sitting accross from them and conversing quietly.

Ami glanced over at Heero, seated silently next to her. He was staring straight ahead, unmoving apart from the steady rise and fall of his chest to indicate that he indeed was breathing.

She pursed her lips slightly, suddenly feeling like she needed to scream. She needed out. She needed air. No- she couldn't even go outside.

Maybe a shower, if anything to at least help her feel clean. She stood, Heero glancing up at her.

"I'm taking a shower." Her voice had an edge to it, as though she was tense or feeling claustrophobic. He nodded wordlessly, watching her head upstairs. From nearby, Trowa looked over at him. Heero stood, feeling like he needed to talk to Ami but not knowing what he even wanted to say.

Trowa turned back to his conversation with Makoto, understanding that something was bothering the normally stoic pilot.

Heero followed Ami upstairs, frowning when he saw how slowly she was moving. She was hurting from the accident still, and he reminded himself that she would be healed from that by tomorrow. Her attacks though- those wouldn't heal.

Ami was well aware he was a few feet behind her, but didn't stop until they were out of earshot of the others, hence why she headed up to a guest room on the third floor. He turned on the lights and shut the door behind him as he entered, leaning back against the door and crossing his arms. She spun around to face him as well, her arms already crossed over her stomach and tipping her head at him.

"Did you want to talk?"

He stared at her a moment, before speaking. "Did you?"

Ami sighed, looking frustrated as she ran a hand through her hair, grabbing it a moment and releasing it as she let her hand drop to her side.

"No," she said simply. He nodded once, silence passing between them.

The two stood and stared at each other a minute longer, before he spoke again.

"So either the Dark Alliance kills us all, or we beat them and you all go back to your world quickly and freeze the earth for centuries?"

She began to nod, but he spoke. "Or.....since you had to come here and accumulate all the power your body was supposed to gain in a year within one month- it might kill you."

"Right," she responded, but he shook his head angrily.

"So you're not upset that you might die?" He questioned.

"Not exactly, not of death. You know I've died before," she explained, trying to quell the natural feeling of nerves that came from the topic they were discussing.

"Don't be so ready to accept death," he snapped, walking forwards and catching her arm.. "It's not who you are. You're better than that."

"You don't know that, you hardly know me," she responded. "Anyways, I'm not trying to die, I'm just considering the distinct possibility. Wouldn't you be ready to accept death if you were backed into my corner?"

"I would be, because my life is cheap and meaningless. Yours is more important and you should do everything in your power to preserve it," he responded sharply, not releasing her arm.

"Are you serious? What makes my life more valuable than your own? Haven't we been through this? Every life has value, and that includes yours Heero! Don't put my blood above yours!"

"Don't worry about my blood. You just work on staying healthy. We need to end this conversation and you need to relax. Meioh said you shouldn't get stressed."

"How do you expect me not to stress," she demanded, pulling her arm free. "I am always stressed. This situation is insane. Don't you see? We didn't want to talk about it, but we're on a time limit now and every road seems to end with us being apart for good. Even if we beat the enemy and I survive to successfully freeze the earth, us senshi will be frozen for hundreds of years.........and I-" She stopped speaking, worried that she would say something she'd regret. "Forget it."

"No," he said, stepping closer and grabbing her carefully around the waist, not wanting to harm her accident injuries further. "I can't sit back and accept what's happening."

Her eyes became glassy, and she struggled to find her words. "Heero you and I both know that I am sick. This wasn't supposed to happen- I was supposed to stay in my world and slowly gain these powers. I am afraid to admit it most times, but I'm sick. I never feel well and I don't want anyone to worry- or maybe I just couldn't admit to myself the last week or so that the attacks were getting drastically worse. I-I don't know what to do....even if I survive- I'm scared to leave you."

"Then don't."

"I have to," she replied heatedly, the feeling that her lungs were about to explode returning full force. She only realized that she was no longer standing on her own when Heero began to shake her, and she saw that she was being held up by him but considerably nearer to the floor.

"Oh, Heero, I'm sorry," she attempted, but he indicated for her to stop as he set her on the bed, a worried frown on his face.

Ami wanted to speak again and assure him that all was well, however the painful breathing only caused more pain in her chest and then her head began to throb.

"Just relax," he said, his voice tense. "Breathe." He had seen her breathing change when they were arguing, but the way that she had gone white so quickly had indicated to him immediately that she was having another attack.

Ami remained pale white and trembling, leaving him nothing to do but sit on the bed and place his head frustratedly in his hands. Ami was right. The situation was insane. When someone was sick- his first instinct was to take them to a doctor. A doctor couldn't do anything for her. What were they supposed to do? Wait for the Dark Alliance to find them? Send Preventers troops in to help them? Wait for Ami to become so sick that she couldn't get up...or die?

All he knew was that they had to think of a plan- and fast.

* * *

Review!


	11. Part 11

Part 11

"We know where they are! They're in that damned city!" Kaden threw the glass he had been drinking from against the wall of the staff quarters at Garderville Security, listening to the satisfying sound of it cracking into several pieces. His dark green eyes were furious, contrasting to his pale blonde hair.

Mamoru shrugged at Kaden's foul attitude, a sour look crossing his face."This is all you and Ryder's fault."

"Me?" Ryder questioned arrogantly, glaring at Mamoru. "Had you remained silent we would have had them before the damn civilians interjected!" He ran both his hands through his light brown hair in a frustrated manner, his pale blue eye burning with fury.

Laughter filled the room, as the agent known as Dominic appeared. "Hey morons, I heard what you did today. How are we doing? Did the boss men upstairs lay down the law? How embarrassing for 'Garderville security'."

"Shut up Dominic!" Ryder responded, Kaden glaring.

"We even know where they went after we attacked them but our leaders wouldn't listen!"

Dominic's ears perked. "You know where Jupiter is staying?"

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "They don't; they only know the neighborhood that the pilot, Barton, drove them to."

"Trowa Barton?" Dominic questioned, his eyes also hardening as he remembered the man who had been with Jupiter the day she escaped.

"Who?" Two new men appeared in the room, one with his gold eyes shining with interest and the other who just looked bored.

"Great. Cole, Anthony, join the pity party," Dominic said, his violet eyes connecting with Cole's gold ones. Dominic shook his dark-haired head, smirking and returning to his careless attitude.

"He was talking about one of the pilots," Kaden said irratibly, not in the mood to see all of the agents after their embarassing public attack on the Senshi that day. Anthony turned to look at Kaden, smirking superiorly.

"Don't beat yourself up. I hope you didn't injure Mars too bad though," he added tersely, his black eyes searching for any word of a lie in Kaden's face.

"Or Venus," Cole added.

"If anyone would listen to us, you would have them in a second," Ryder interrupted. "I told you, we saw which neighborhood they drove into. We're just not positive about the house! It's a rich area! Not too overcrowded."

"Sounds interesting," Cole agreed, Anthony nodding as Dominic laughed.

"Sounds like our chance at the Senshi and you three rejects chance at getting back in our leaders' good graces," Dominic agreed, all of the men looking up as a chance finally arose.

"Should we tell anyone else?" Mamoru asked, a tense expression on his face. Kaden and Ryder turned to look at him, the other three agents exchanging glances.

"You know which side you're on?" Ryder questioned.

Mamoru glared. "I know."

"Well you're acting odd lately," Kaden snapped. "I know that when they brainwashed you, they allowed you to keep all of your memories but gave you a different mindset. It's changing."

"Nothing's changed," Mamoru stated, standing and staring Kaden and Ryder down. "I was asking if we should get the other four agents who have an interest in the Outers. With all of them along though, the situation might get out of hand. Forget it, we can handle bringing all of them. Let's go get the Senshi."

"It really will only take about ten minutes creeping around that rich neighborhood to find the right house," Ryder finally agreed, everyone disappearing from the room.

* * *

Ami tried to shift where she lay, awakening and attempting to get out of the bed. Where was she? Remembering that she and Heero had come up to the third floor to talk and that she had suffered an attack, she turned her face to the left and saw Heero sleeping soundly near her on the bed, facing away from her. He had likely fallen asleep waiting for her to get better. What time was it? She looked at the clock, seeing that it was one o'clock in the morning.

Everyone else had likely gone to sleep. She wondered if she should head down to a room downstairs and let Heero sleep peacefully, but still didn't feel she had the strength to get up.

Shivering slightly and turning away from Heero, she tried to relax and go back to sleep, but for some reason felt a little insecure. Before she could ponder why she wasn't comfortable and why the room was cold, a hand completely covered her mouth, roughly pulling her backwards on the bed. She squirmed and tried to scream, but realized that it was useless thanks to the strength of the person holding her. Kaden pulled her to rest against his chest where he sat by the headboard, bending down and whispering in her ear.

"I'm sure you know it's useless to struggle. I already knocked out your boyfriend over there."

Ami's eyes darted to the edge of the bed where Heero laid. He hadn't been sleeping- he had been attacked?

A breeze blew through the open window in the room, also explaining why it had been cold, as Kaden spoke again.

"The others are collecting your friends as we speak. If you don't scream when I release your mouth, I'll consider sparing your pilot's life."

Heero wasn't moving, and she was worried and almost positive that Kaden had hit him in the head. Kaden removed his hand and naturally Ami screamed loudly, hoping she would at least wake someone up.

* * *

One floor below, Haruka sat up in bed, glancing at Michiru.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Michiru asked, her voice filled with sleep.

"You didn't hear that?" Haruka questioned, standing and grabbing her henshin wand.

Michiru shook her head tiredly, watching as Haruka headed out of the room and into the hall. "Where is everyone sleeping? We all went at different times...I didn't see. Where's Hotaru?"

"In the next room."

"How about Setsuna?"

"She left hours ago."

Michiru got to her feet, grabbing her wand as well, if only for the panic in Haruka's voice.

* * *

Minako padded down the hall of the second floor hesitantly. Her stomach was not fully healed yet and it was killing her, but she had heard a noise and was alone in the room she had been laid in after the accident. Since they had only been free from the Dark Alliance a little over two days and she had spent one of the nights at Ami's apartment, she was very unfamiliar with Quatre's estate...and in the dark everything looked the same.

Spotting the darkened figure of Makoto at the end of the hall, she smiled and approached.

"So it was you making all of that noise?"

When she was about five feet from Makoto and her eyes began to adjust to the dark Minako froze, eyes widening as she gasped. An arm was around Makoto's waist, a hand covering her mouth where she stood stiffly, her eyes warning Minako not to come a step closer.  
Minako backed up unsurely, knowing her henshin wand was in her purse and hoping that whoever had carried her inside after the accident had brought it into the room they set her in.

She wondered why the man holding Makoto, the agent Dominic, allowed her to until she backed into someone else. Scared, she spun around wildly, meeting Cole's gold and amused eyes.

"Hello my dear," he said quite sincerely, his hand moving quicker than her legs carrying her away as he caught her arms, speaking. "I'm still a bit injured from when you and Mars attacked me at the base but I'm willing to play nice."

* * *

Rei groaned, shifting in her bed. Even though she had woken up a few hours before and sat with everyone she was still in a lot of pain from the accident. The sound of someone padding down the hallway reached her ears and she frowned. Odd. The clock read just past one.

Sitting up slightly, Rei tried to get a better look, but saw nothing unusual, just darkness outside her door. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed carefully, she stood a bit unsteadilly and approached the doorway. Just as she neared it, it swung closed, and she jumped back, immediately spotting the Dark Alliance agent who had been hiding behind the door.

"Anthony?" She questioned, her voice dripping with venom. Where was her purse? Her eyes darted around the room and a smile took over his face as he lifted her henshin wand, clutched in his other hand. Her shocked eyes moved from the wand to her discarded purse on the floor.

Many ideas of what to do went through her mind, none of them very good. Doing the most reasonable and intelligent thing she could think of, she gave her best and loudest scream.

At the sound, Anthony lunged towards her viciously, knocking her to the floor and silencing her.

* * *

Ryder stalked down the hall, searching for Usagi's room. He smiled as he found her sleeping in a room on the first floor of the house, the area quiet and deserted.

"Perfect," he whispered to himself, entering her room and approaching the bed where she lay. The moon's light streamed through the window, giving her skin an almost ethereal glow.

He touched her cheek lightly, leaning next to her face and speaking softly. "Let's go princess. Time to wake up. We're going back to the base."

Usagi's eyes flew open, her eyes widening as she opened her mouth to scream. He covered her mouth and pinned her arms against her sides, smirking.

"Come my princess," he told her, smirking.

"That's my line."

"What?" Ryder demanding, turning at Mamoru's voice. Mamoru's cane bashed him the face as soon as he turned, the force of the blow knocking him to the floor with a strangled scream.

Usagi leapt to her feet, gasping as she had forgotten that her ribs were broken.

Mamoru was transformed, in his Tuxedo Kamen garb, and staring at her.

A sudden movement from Ryder caught his attention, and the two made eye contact once more, words useless at this point, before Usagi grabbed her broach with her crystal from the dresser. Mamoru scooped her up and took off into the hallway of the house, Ryder furious shouting behind them.

* * *

"I told you not to scream!" Kaden said furiously, his hand not covering her mouth but not needing to be over it as she was blacking in and out from the hit he had given her in the head. She had forgotten how strong he was for a while there...

"You've honestly been so much more trouble than you're worth," he accused, shoving her to the floor on the opposite side of the bed and approaching Heero's limp form.

"I'm going to kill him and rid myself of his bullshit."

Ami hid a sob, knowing that her henshin wand was downstairs in the room she had been laid in that afternoon. Kaden prepared a small red blast in his hand, releasing it on Heero's back and watching smugly as his shirt became soaked with blood.

Ami screamed but he ignored her, knowing the rest of the agents had already infiltrated the entire house by now. No one was free to help

Almost uninterested, he shoved Heero's body off of the bed and on the floor next to Ami. He landed roughly, Ami scrambling over to him and checking on him. The wound in his back was pretty bad and she immediately pulled off the sweatshirt she had layered on top of her tank top, bunching it and applying pressure to the wound on his back.

"No need to strip down for me," Kaden said with a smirk, watching her attempt to stop the bleeding from where he sat on the bed. "Anyways, why are you wasting your time? You think you can stop me? You think someone will come help you? They have their own problems."

Ami ignored him, her hands shaking. Why did these things always have to happen? She tried to control her emotions and stop stressing, knowing she was likely about to have an attack. Setsuna had warned her not to stress but...

Kaden's shadow loomed above her, and her hands shook more as she could only keep them applying pressure on Heero's wound.

"You're pathetic."

Tears burned at her eyes, feeling more than pathetic without him saying so. A familiar feeling of pain began to spread through her midsection to the rest of her limbs and she was sure she was about to have an attack, them now occuring as often as Setsuna had thought that they might.

Kaden crouched next to her, continuing to speak and watching smugly as she clearly began to have an attack. She went white, arms shaking more violently but refusing to fall and remaining sitting up. "Yes, you just keep making me feel bad for you. Poor you. I'm beating on the man who has saved you from me the last three weeks, and you are so weak that you can't even defend him."

She continued to blink back her tears, her arms shaking violently as the pain began to get unbearable. She refused to move, not knowing what to do but hoping that if she achieved anything from remaining where she sat than she would at least have stopped Heero's bleeding before Kaden took her away.

"Defend him Ami."

Kaden hit Heero in the side of the head again, Ami moving forwards to stop him and receiving a hit to the face. She fell sideways but Kaden wouldn't let her off easy. He grabbed her shoulders roughly, forcing her to sit up again, and grabbed her arms, taking her hands and reapplying them on the sweater. He pushed down on her hands, making sure she was putting pressure again, smirking at how much she shook.

"I just wanted you as you were. You are trying to stop his bleeding, aren't you? You're not doing a great job but that's none of my bussiness," he explained, grabbing her hair and straightening her when she threatened to pass out from her attack. "I mean, you don't have your henshin wand, so you're useless. What kind of power is that? Plus even if you had it, you'd be ineffective thanks to your constant attacks." He paused, smirking as a couple of tears made their way down her cheeks, her resolve fading quickly. "What have you honestly done for this pilot? Ever since you entered his life it's been a living hell. You really must not care about him if you keep putting him through this. So selfish."

"Shut up!" Ami shouted, her head swimming as she turned back to look at Heero, still limp. She continued to cry, not sure if she was more bothered by the pain from her attack or the situation or even Kaden's words.

"Me?" Kaden remained scarily calm, smirking. "Okay."

He reached out and grabbed her face, not needing to put any effort to make her look at him. "We don't need to speak, you and I."

His other hand grabbed Ami's wrists, holding them together and disentangling them from the sweater she was using to put pressure on Heero's wound. More tears soaked her cheeks but he didn't care as he pulled her away from Heero.

"Please. Please leave me alone," she begged, and he shook his head, leaning over her and bringing his face by her ear. "No way, this is the best of situations for me. I have five other agents downstairs and we're not here under orders- but on our own accord."

Ami groaned as he put his full weight on her, her pained cries not bothering Kaden too much at first as he captured her lips, silencing her.

Struggling was, as usual with Kaden, almost useless. She felt unfocused and the pain from the attack was agonizing, the situation almost surreal as Kaden's lips trailed down to her neck. Her breathing was erratic and her cries grew louder and he sighed with irritation. "Be quiet."

Raising his hand, he balled it into a fist and gave her a swift but forceful hit on the side of her head. Ami instantly grew silent, blacking out and just barely coming to to feel Kaden lifting her tank top over her head, revealing her bra underneath. She fell back against the wall, her head hitting it with a dull thud as she could only stare at her discarded shirt on the floor, feeling Kaden's cold hands pulling her towards him.

* * *

Tuxedo Kamen, carrying Usagi, was running down the hall, the sounds of Ryder at his heels. He turned to look behind him, sure that Ryder was close and ready to kill him for the betrayal, before Usagi screamed, the two nearly colliding with Sailor Neptune and Sailor Saturn.

"Let go of her!" Neptune demanded, Tuxedo Kamen setting Usagi down and raising his hands in defense. "I'm on your side right now! We've got Ryder to worry about!"

Usagi nodded, transforming.

"He helped me against Ryder, where's Sailor Uranus?"

"She ran into Wufei and the two went searching for everyone else. Pluto didn't come back, did she?"

"Not that I saw," Sailor Moon responded. The sound of Ryder's furious shouts grew closer, and Sailor Neptune stepped forwards with Saturn.

"Well then if you're on our side my King, allow us to help you out," Neptune said. Before Ryder could fully round the corner, she attacked.

"Neptune Deep Submerge!"

Ryder screamed at the surprise attack, but responded fast with one of his own.

"Saturn Silence Shield!" Saturn deflected the attack, Sailor Moon stepping forwards. "Thanks you two. Silver Moon Crystal Power!"

Ryder gasped and barely managed to dodge, the attack only partially hitting him as he collapsed to the floor, bleeding severely.

"My...God...that would have killed me," he muttered in disbelief, disappearing before anymore damage could be done.

* * *

Minako screamed as Cole felt her up, kicking to no end although he seemed unaffected, sitting on top of her in the hall. A few feet away, Dominic was getting pretty physical with Makoto, having hit her more times than she wanted to see or count.

"Mako!" She shouted, her friends safety priority number one.

Cole snickered, grabbing her face. "Worry about yourself."

Makoto got one good hit in, elbowing Dominic in the groin and watching as his hands released her slightly, giving her all the chance she needed to escape. Stumbling to her feet, she dashed towards her room to get her henshin wand, not realizing just how injured she was and collapsing halfway there. Expecting to hit the floor, she was surprised when she felt a pair of arms encircle her, catching her. Thinking it was Dominic, she went to push away, surprised when the arms held her steady. Looking up, she gasped as she found herself in Trowa's hold. He wasn't looking at her, his face solemn but his eyes showing fury. He was watching Dominic, who was simply smirking.

"Ah, Barton, we meet again," Dominic noted. Raising his hands, he held them flat, a sudden wind blasting Trowa and Makoto into the opposite wall. Trowa protected her head, helping her up.

"Are you strong enough to get your wand?" He muttered. She nodded, hurriedly slipping into her room's door as Trowa looked up from the floor and began to fire his gun at Dominic.

Dominic dodged most of the bullets, a few hitting him and enraging him as he got past the barrage and in front of Trowa, creating a black electricity with his hands and releasing it on him. Trowa gasped, never having been attacked by anything like it, the pain suddenly ending as Dominic was attacked as well.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

Dominic gasped, falling back, as Trowa got to his knees and began to shoot at him again when he was down. Jupiter rushed over to help Minako but saw that she already had some help.

The sound of gunfire came closer to Minako as Cole suddenly stopped his assault, falling off of her. She scrambled backwards, scared and irritated, as Quatre came into view.

He rushed towards her, helping her up off the ground. "Are you alright?" He asked. Minako suddenly screamed and pointed, as Cole was suddenly behind Quatre, hitting him and knocking him to the ground.

Quatre turned, gun drawn, and brought it right up to Cole's stomach, firing relentlessly.

Cole gasped for a breath, blood filling his mouth. He collapsed, disappearing from the hall around the time Dominic was able to.

* * *

"Get off of me," Rei demanded, her voice much less forceful after how many times Anthony had hit her in the head. He ignored her weak pleas, running his hands down her figure and running his lips freely over her face and neck.

"No, stop," she continued, blacking in and out. Anthony suddenly halted, a pair of arms pulling him off of her and throwing him against the wall.

"She said stop, do you have a hearing problem?" Duo demanded, looking more angry than Rei remembered him ever looking.

"Who the hell are you?" Anthony questioned.

"The names Duo Maxwell," Duo responded, raising his gun. He wasted not time in firing at Anthony but he dodged, seeming to disappear before he reappeared in front of Duo's face, striking him down. Rei found her wand, discarded on the ground, and transformed, wasting no time in attacking.

"Marc Celestial Fire, Surround!"

Anthony collapsed momentarily, Duo beginning to fire at him while Mars prepared another attack.

"Mars Fire Bird!" Anthony screamed in pain, the second fire attack combined with the bullets too much as he made a quick escape. Mars sighed, turning to face Duo and thank him.

"Your welcome," Duo told Mars with a smile before she spoke, immediately returning to his happy attitude. She nodded, hesitating a second before kissing Duo on the cheek.

"I don't have the words to thank you."

* * *

"N-no," Ami murmured, physically unable to do a thing as his hands roamed her trembling body. Ami found some strength and tried to push his arms off of her as he reached for the clip of her bra.

"Stop pushing me, you're only causing painful delays for yourself!" He said furiously, spotting the wound from her accident earlier and striking it, a searing pain spreading from the area was it began to bleed again. Ami screamed loudly, the pain mixed with her attack unbearable.

She turned away from Kaden, her eyes burning from all of her crying, and met a furious pair of Prussian blue eyes. Heero had apparently awakened from her scream, and he looked beyond angry as the sound of gunfire reached her ears. Kaden fell off of her momentarily before jumping Heero, his gun clattering to the floor. Ami tried to catch her breath, horrified at the situation as she realized that it was up to her to help Heero.

Trying to find the strength to move let alone stand, she dragged herself over to Heero's gun, taking it unsteadily in her hands and trying to aim at Kaden from where she lay on the floor. He and Heero were rolling around on the ground, both now injured and neither one keeping the upper hand for long as Heero was currently kicking Kaden in the face while he lunged at him. Ami wasn't sure how Heero was doing this with how severe his injury was, but tried to focus lest she pass out or aim improperly. She removed the safety, waiting for her chance.

Kaden suddenly took the upper hand, shoving Heero's face into the ground and beating on his injured back. Before Ami could over-think her actions she fired the gun, watching as her aim was precise and Kaden was hit in the chest. She didn't stop, continuing to shoot in hopes of at least knocking him out. After the sixth bullet Kaden fell backwards, gasping in pain and breathing heavily as he cursed at her. Ami wanted him dead and wanted to fire more, but the gun was evidently out of bullets. She allowed it to clatter to the floor uselessly, watching as Heero turned and tried to grab a hold of Kaden's arm, who was disappearing from the ground and clearly running back to his base.

Heero gave a furious shout of rage, quite uncharacteristic of him, as he began to get off the floor. He got to his knees, dizzy from how much Kaden had hit him in the head. Blood dripped down his back and he wasn't too sure when that had happened either. Turning to where Ami laid, his anger died and he crawled over to her. Her tank top was on the floor about five feet from where she laid, her back to him and shaking. It didn't seem like she had the strength to get it so he did, crawling back over to her and holding it out to her without a word. She took it from his hands, turning onto her back agonizingly slow and pulling it on over her bra, allowing her head to hit the floor again.

Beyond anything Kaden had done to her, it was clear she had suffered an attack. He touched her arm lightly, watching with a frown as she jumped. She turned her face slightly to look at him, her face stained with tears and her eyes completely bleary. Almost tiredly, she turned away from him again, her head falling back against the floor. Heero rubbed her shoulder, not knowing what to do as neither one of them could walk.

Finally she spoke, her voice soft. "Sorry."

He grew still, speaking. "Why?"

She didn't answer, and he sighed, touching her forehead. Her temperature was high and she was pale white, her breathing extremely uneven.

The sound of rushed footsteps reached his ears and he froze, dropping his guard when he saw it was just Wufei. Wufei took one look at them before turning to look down the hall.

"Uranus! Over here!"

He entered the room, Uranus at his heels and running over to Ami. "Let's get you out of here," she said, picking Ami up swiftly.

"You don't look so good. We'll get you help when we get to the apartments," Wufei told Heero, picking him up.

"Apartments?" Heero questioned.

"We're all staying in you and Ami's apartments. This location is compromised and we don't all need to be driving to different houses and being followed. We're staying in one spot from now on," Wufei explained.

"Yes, just for a couple of days- until we go in and kill those assholes," Uranus stated, her tone more than unpleasant as she stalked out of the room with Ami in tow.

* * *

Sorry for the delay, i had this chapter written a very long time ago and just never had time to edit and post it.


	12. Part 12

Chapter 12

"Why are we not staying? There are two good apartments here." Minako asked Quatre tiredly as he laid her on one of the couches in Ami's apartment.

He smiled at her patiently, speaking. "It's not a good idea Mina. They'll find this apartment just like they found my house. With all of the new injuries everyone sustained today, we'll never be able to attack the base in a day."

"How long are we supposed to wait?" Haruka questioned, setting Ami down and watching as everyone was finally brought into the apartment.

Michiru was busying herself in shutting the blinds with Hotaru, everyone seated or laying in various spots accross the room.

"At least four days, if you're not all recuperated we'll never beat the dark alliance," Duo stated quite seriously, looking around the room.

Wufei pursed his lips, glancing down at Heero, who was the most heavilly injured pilot. He shook his head. "These locations- our homes, they'll be compromised within the next few hours."

"Yes they will be. Those agents are furious. When their superiors hear they'll be scouting for you within the next two hours. I presume you guys were already close to discovering where we lived?" Trowa asked Mamoru.

Mamoru nodded. "Yes. They'll double their efforts now. We realized your addresses within the preventers were concealed but there are other ways."

"Fine then," Heero rasped out, attempting to sit up. "Let's patch ourselves up and move."

"Move where?" Rei asked from where she sat, touching Makoto's shoulder lightly. Wufei responded.

"There are several locations about an hour away. We'll be closer to Garderville that way too. We'll use cash for some hotel rooms."

"Alright then, let's get my first aid kit," Ami muttered, attempting to sit up. Hotaru stopped her, going to look for it as Usagi spoke.

"I'll call Setsuna." Usagi slowly rose to her feet, wincing but telling Mamoru that she was okay as she headed into the kitchen so she could hear Setsuna better.

Quatre frowned deeply, grabbing the first aid kit from Hotaru as she returned.

He looked at Wufei, also uninjured, and at Trowa, who was mildly injured. Hotaru, Michiru, and Haruka were checking on whose injuries were most severe. Everyone else was hurt.

"We've got our work cut out for us."

* * *

"Was all of that car switching necessary?" Rei grumbled, feeling like she was ready to pass out. She had been attacked twice and groped in the last twenty four hours and exhaustion had more than set in.

"Sorry babe, they know the cars me and Trowa and Heero drive. We had to get Wufei's and one of Quatre's to leave town. And ditching them outside of town and taking some rental cars with preventers clearance had to be done. This way we can't be traced."

Rei nodded tiredly. She could understand, but none of the girls were used to being on the run, even if it was going to be for just a couple of days. Apparently the pilots were very good at dissapearing. The group was now headed to a hotel an hour from Garderville.

"Don't worry, before the week is out we'll be at the Dark Alliance base in Garderville with a ton of government troops to help us out," he finished, and this did lighten her mood.

Duo turned back to the road. In the back Michiru, Haruka, and Hotaru were asleep. He could understand it. It was nearly five am and no one had slept all day.

In the next car the preventers had helped them get, Wufei was driving. Riding with him were Usagi, Mamoru, Trowa and Makoto. Setsuna had agreed to meet them in the next town later that day, after everyone rested. In the third vehicle, Quatre was driving. Minako was asleep next to him, and Ami and Heero were practically comatose in the back. He had barely heard a sound from them apart from a few grumbles when they had switched cars.

He knew that Kaden had it out bad for Heero, although after that night all of the agents had a grudge against the pilots.

The sign for the next town coming up was on his right hand side, and he signalled so that Duo and Wufei would follow.

The hotel they had selected was large, not obscure. However the chances that the Dark Alliance would check outside of Garderville or their home town, or know to check this specific hotel, were rare. The city was large, so they would probably have an easy time blending in.

* * *

Ami groaned lightly, shifting in her bed. The group had checked into the hotel hours before, into two suites. Each suite had four beds and a couch. She was sleeping next to Makoto. In the room were Heero and Trowa, Duo and Rei, and Wufei. Rei was alseep on the sofa bed, and Duo and Wufei had unhapilly shared a bed along with Heero and Trowa sharing another. In the next suite, Usagi, Mamoru, Hotaru, Michiru, Haruka, Quatre, and Minako were sleeping.

The clock read 1 o'clock p.m. She was sure everyone would start getting up within the next hour. Perhaps some of the occupants in the next room were already up and grabbing food from the restaurant downstairs. Actually, she was starving. She hadn't eaten since the previous morning.

The blinds were closed, shutting out all the light. Ami sat up slightly, muffling another whimper as pain shot through her waist thanks to her reopened wound. Her head was throbbing thanks to the few hits Kaden had gotten in. She was sure Heero felt the same, and his back had been so bad too.

Everyone had been worse for wear. She wondered if she could stand. It had been eleven or twelve hours since her attack.

Struggling out of the bed, she glanced down at her cotton shorts and clean white tank top. Someone had changed her clothes? She had to listen to Setsuna and work on staying calm. These senseless attacks had completely taken over her life.

Trying not to wake the drained looking Makoto, she quietly padded away from the bed. She just felt weak. When she had exited the room and entered the small sitting room, she found herself reliant on the wall for support. The pounding in her head seemed worse than when she was lying down.

The sofa bed was empty, but now that she was up she could hear the shower on. So Rei must have been in the shower. Actually, Wufei and Duo's bed was empty. Perhaps they were grabbing food. What about Trowa and Heero? She turned around to glance back toward their bed and the room began to spin just as she noticed that only Trowa was in the bed.

She was down before she could recognize what had happened, but not on the floor.

"Are you alright?" His voice was softer than usual, and quiet, probably because Makoto and Trowa were asleep. Heero lifted her up and moved her to the couch, shushing her objections.

"I'm fine."

He set her down and sat on the ground next to her, wincing.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, trying to sit up on the couch before the room began to spin. A splitting pain tore through her and she realized her weakness was not from her previous attack but from her body gaining more power. The attack was not extreme but she couldn't get up.

"I'm fine. You're having another attack, aren't you?" He said quietly, putting his head in his hands. "We have to kill those assholes and get you home safe before you get worse."

"I'm fine," she muttered. "It's you I'm worried about. That idiot Kaden did a number on your back."

"Don't worry about me; worry about yourself," he repeated. She stiffened. He told her that constantly but she couldn't.

"I can't."

"Ami you're going to have another attack if you get riled up," he muttered, reaching his hand back and squeezing hers. "Just relax. We'll get him."

* * *

Minako lounged by the pool in the one piece bathing suit Quatre had purchased for her at the hotel gift shop.

The sun felt good on her skin, and her stomach wound, the reason for the one piece rather than two as per usual, was healing nicely. Everyone was spread in different areas around the pool, no one swimming as they were all too injured for that.

They had all slowly risen that morning and eaten, and had decided thay they would talk strategy that night but needed to rest that day. So they were resting, sleeping or just relaxing by the pool and trying to heal up while absorbing some much needed Vitamin D.

She glanced next to her at Ami, who was pale as a ghost despite the warm glow of the afternoon sun.

Heero had laid Ami out on the lounge chair next to her and sat wearilly by her, although he tried to keep his face emotionless. She understood his anxiety. Ami had suffered what they thought to be three attacks in the last four hours and was asleep again. They had started, according to Heero, when she woke up, and hadn't stopped despite Ami barely moving from the couch. They had only brought her outside too because the hope was that some fresh air would be good for her.

Her friend was dying and fast. If they didn't beat the enemy and get Ami home before she had to freeze the earth she would definitely not survive. How long was that in this dimension? A week? A couple of days? No one was sure.

Setsuna and her made eye contact, and Minako realized Setsuna had been staring at Ami as well. Her eyes were laiden with guilt, and she was sure Setsuna was blaming the entire mess on herself.

"You couldn't of known Sets," she offered reassuringly. Setsuna only shook her head.

From next to her, Quatre spoke.

"Relax Mina." She nodded with a pout, laying back down.

Rei and Duo looked up momentarily, glancing at each other and watching everyone else who was seemingly asleep. Makoto and Trowa were practically comatose since arriving at the pool, as were the three outers. Wufei slept quietly next to the perturbed Setsuna, and Usagi slept on Mamoru's chair. Mamoru hugged Usagi against himself, not asleep in the least and watching the group from time to time although he seemed lost in his own thoughts. There were currently no other guests at the pool but it was the smaller of the two guest pools and likely undesireable. Plus there was no patio to offer any shade, a fact they did not mind at the moment.

Heero leaned back in his chair, trying to appear nonchalant and failing. This girl had pulled him out of his facade or until recently, lifestyle, of monotony in a matter of weeks and he barely knew how to fake his once perfected mask.

Helping them was one thing but now he was emotionally attached to a girl who was practically on her death bed thanks to the recent circumstances.

This was not like him. This severe attachment. This happy demeanor. Although he had to admit, he did like himself a lot better when he was with her than when he wasn't.

Maybe his current lack of self loathing would stick around but he couldn't guarantee it.

He glanced back at Ami and his eyes widened slightly as he saw her shifting in her seat, her glassy eyes meeting his.

"What time is it?" She muttered. "Why are we by the pool?"

"It's four and we are here because we all needed some fresh air." He responded lightly, sitting up."Are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine, it was just a bad morning," she responded quietly, clearing her throat. "I'm thirsty, I'm going to get some water."

"I got you some, don't get up," he said, passing her a bottle. She accepted it with a smile and a thank you, glancing next to her. Minako appeared to be sleeping, as did Quatre, but both were smiling slightly.

"Mina stop pretending," she berated lightly, knowing Minako had probably quickly ushered for Quatre to also close his eyes when they saw her waking up. Minako liked to create moments like this for her and Heero to have privacy although creating the privacy was not exactly the same thing. Explaining this to Minako however seemed impossible.

Minako's smile widened as she blinked open her eyes.

"Oh Ami, you're awake! Thank goodness!"

"Mina if we survive the next few days don't pursue acting," Rei said with a yawn from a few chairs away, Minako pouting and laughing with Quatre.

Ami glanced down at her clothing, a pair of shorts and a black tank top she didn't recognize.

"It's from the gift shop Ami. Don't you remember when Mako and Usa helped you get changed?" Minako asked. A frown marred Ami's featured, her eyebrows kniting together in confusion.

"No, I don't remember."

"Oh well you were probably just out of it Ami," Rei said reassuringly, glad she was wearing sunglasses to cover her worried eyes. Setsuna nodded in support, giving Ami a smile.

"Are you hungry? We'll have to get you something since you didn't get a chance to eat."

"No I just was thirsty," she responded, leaning her head back. Heero met eyes with Setsuna, who looked even more concerned.

"Ami you have to eat something or you won't recover from all of those attacks. They'll just tear at your body faster," Setsuna said.

Ami didn't respond, although Heero guessed she was still perturbed by the fact that she had forgotten some of her day. Ami never forgot anything.

"Is it safe for us to be out here?" She asked finally, breaking the silence that had fallen upon those who were awake.

"We have no reason to believe that they know our location or even what city we're in," Heero clarified, and she nodded.

* * *

Ami frowned from where she lay on the couch the next evening. From next to her, Duo offered her a cookie, his eyes following the others who were talking absentmindedly. She accepted it only to please him, following the conversation as well. They had ended up sleeping early the previous night and didn't discuss anything, everyone vowing to strategize the next day.

It began with a phone call from preventer's headquarters, which basically let them know that at precisely 9:50 AM the next morning, they would be confronting the Dark Alliance in Garderville.

It lead to some very blunt facts on their end.

The preventer's would likely have to fight and would deal with all of the civilian Dark Alliance workers, brainwashed youth or other kidnapped people. They would likely be in the hundreds. Then they probably had about fifteen of the stronger Dark Alliance followers, such as Kaden, to deal with. Beyond them were whoever was in charge of the Dark Alliance, a mystery even to Mamoru who had been working for them when he was brainwashed. There was also the issue of a lot of youma being conjured up and uselessly killing preventer's soldiers or slowing them down. They were luckilly still not going in blind thanks to the blue prints Ami's computer had made them.

"Alright, tomorrow at ten o'clock, ten minutes after the preventer's troops will approach them. The plan's all set then I guess," Haruka mused, the group around the living room nodding the affirmative. "Except…" she turned to stare in Ami's direction, Ami sitting up straighter and meeting her gaze.

"No."

"Ami," Setsuna interjected, trying to keep her tone light. "Yesterday you had four attacks. Today you had five. The time to freeze the earth is basically upon us in the other dimension give or take a couple of days and you simply are too sick to fight, let alone stand most of the time."

"I'm a vulnerability," Ami admitted after a moment. "I know what you mean….it's just I can't stand the idea of all of you going in without me. I'm worried."

"We are too, that's why it's best you stay behind," Quatre replied. "No one in the dark alliance knows we're in this hotel. You'd be safe and hopefully keep healthy until we can get you home safely."

"I hate staying here while you all risk your necks.…."

"Trust us Ami, we know how you feel. You're most definitely a strong asset to the team but this is for the best," Usagi said, the other senshi all voicing their agreement.

Mamoru nodded, speaking. "Ami we're not trying to bring you down. It's all our fault that you're even having these attacks. It's for the kingdom and your role isn't easy-"

"-and you barely made it out the last time we went into the base, and you were healthier then," Heero interjected. Ami frowned deeply, cut by Heero's statement even though he hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. Heero, like Ami, worked off of facts. It was a fact that she had barely survived the last infiltration.

"I know," she said evenly, although it was unnecessary. Heero knew she knew that. He had only been saying it as a reminder to everyone else.

"We should get to bed," Michiru said, breaking the silence.

"Yep, we have to be up bright and early," Rei said, everyone rising.

Ami rose stiffly, nodding at Minako and Makoto, who were smiling encouragingly at her as they still felt bad. In the corner, Wufei was shaking a sleeping Hotaru and telling her to get into her bed, Setsuna smiling warmly at Hotaru. Was something going on between Wufei and Setsuna? It must have been, but Ami didn't linger on the thought of how close Wufei and Setsuna were standing as Heero's voice interrupted her.

"Ami?" Everyone who was supposed to be asleep in the other suite had exited and their roommates were off to bed.

She and Heero were left alone in the sitting area of the suite as everyone in their room washed up.

"You're mad," he stated.

"I am," she admitted, "but not at you. It's just the situation. I've never in the last nine years had to sit one out."

"It's for the best. I won't be able to go in there knowing you're not safe. I'll...be able to focus this way."

She nodded. How could she be upset? If the situation were reversed, she wouldn't have wanted him to come. She would just have to stay here and try to keep sane while he was away. It was unbelievable how a little over three weeks had made her go from being so independent to relying on him for everything.

The time had come for them to finally defeat the Dark Alliance and return to normalcy, but how could she? She was supposed to freeze the planet; Crystal Tokyo's creation was at hand. Something wasn't sitting right with her though. Not their plan or what her life would become when she got to go home.

* * *

Everyone was up and dressed by 7:30, heading downstairs for breakfast and planning on leaving before 8:30.

It was a silent meal, even Duo quiet as he ate a bagel next to Rei. Ami was sure that everyone was just going over the current situation in their heads over and over. They wanted to get in and out smoothly. From Ami's experience it was never quite so simple. She was sure also that the senshi we're as baffled about dealing with the situation with government troops as the pilots were with their powers.

Ami ate her breakfast silently next to Heero, just enjoying everyone's presence for the the time being. It was already past 8 o'clock. The pilots had several guns and other weapons packed in the bags they had already placed in the three rented vehicles they had arrived in.

The silence was comfortable. Although her friends had known the pilots less than a week, it felt like they had always been in their lives.

Soon everyone was standing in the empty hallway, Ami absorbing everyone's actions. Makoto was talking in hushed tones with Trowa, although they both looked confident. Rei was pretending to ignore Duo as he talked a lot, although there was interest in her eyes. Minako was making Quatre blush lightly as she whispered in his ear, and the four outers stood talking with Wufei in a circle. Usagi and Mamoru were simply holding hands, also observing the group.

Ami felt Heero tug at her elbow lightly from behind her, and she turned to face him.

"Take care of yourself," he said simply, and she nodded, her eyes and throat suddenly burning.

All she could think of was Heero entering the base that Kaden was in. Kaden the superhuman who no one had been able to kill.

"I should be telling you that. Please be careful. I suppose telling you to run if you come accross Kaden is useless," she added, a smirk coming accross Heero's face.

"I'm going to kill him," he replied confidently, and she shook her head, the tears she had been holding back now spilling down her cheeks.

"I hate this," she admitted, letting him pull her into his arms as she cried into his shirt, feeling silly but unable to shake her bad feeling.

"I know you do," he said softly. "I'd stay here with you if they didn't need me. I don't like leaving you."

"Hey Heero buddy, everyone's ready to go," Duo called, the two pulling apart.

"Fine, I'll meet you at the car," he replied, Ami and the senshi calling out their goodbyes as the last person to step out shut the door.

"Here," Heero held out a small black gun in her direction, and she frowned.

"Why?"

"I know you're safe here, but just incase...it'll put my mind at ease. Keep it on you until I'm back."

She nodded, respecting his wishes, and accepted the gun. It was small but it felt awkward and heavy in her hand. She looked around the deserted hallway, making sure no one had seen.

He leaned down, and captured her lips, lingering only a moment before pulling back. Fleetingly, he meet her eyes with his intense gaze one last time before he departed.

It was easier for him to leave her if he made his goodbye quick.

Ami watched the door swing closed behind him, hugging her arms around herself. So now she was alone.

Heading to the elevator, she pushed the up button, listening to the rythmic sound of its beeps as it came down. Remembering the gun in her hand, she tucked it into the waist of her jeans quickly. The doors opened and a couple stepped out, stopping when they saw her.

"Shit, I forgot my towel. Is this the first floor already?" The woman asked. She was a pretty brunnete with large almond shaped eyes and a bathing suit on. The man with her, equally attractive, smirked. Ami nodded at her question and the woman rolled her eyes.

"It's your own fault for forgeting your towel," the man told his girlfriend or wife, Ami wasn't sure.

"Whatever, you go get it," she snapped at him, waving her manicured hand in his direction.

"I don't think so, I'll be at the pool," he said, stepping past Ami and off the elevator.

Ami entered the elevator awkwardly, watching the beautiful woman seethe. She pushed the button for the fourteenth floor, the woman pushing the sixteenth floor's button with a huff.

The ride was dead silent, Ami nearly tripping over herself to get off the elevator and heading for her room accross from it as the doors closed. Being in between other couples arguments, however minor, was never pretty.

She opened up her door, heading for the couch lazilly but first removing the gun from her jeans and setting it on the table nearby.

She hoped she wouldn't have any attacks in the next couple of hours. Perhaps trying to sleep would help ease her mind and relax her a bit. Being relaxed usually slowed her attacks.

She laid on the couch and closed her eyes, listening to the complete silence of the room and feeling sad. She had gotten used to the sound of her friends surrounding her.

* * *

"Move, now now now!" Heero whispered to the group sharply, everyone on their feet and taking off towards the back doors of building one. Dark Alliance security guards spilled out the front doors, charging the preventer's troops standing outside. The sound of gunfire and screams tore through the air an instant later.

As expected, the group had not taken kindly to preventer's personnel demanding that every person exit the four buildings while the government searched them for suspicious activity and made necessary arrests.

They were entering building one because Mamoru knew that all of the Dark Alliance members who actually had supernatural abilities were in building one, especially because there were no more senshi held hostage. He had also heard that building one housed the leaders on the top floor but had never been allowed to go up, only given scoldings or ordersthat were passed down from word of mouth.

Quatre and Trowa rushed ahead of the group, placing two small explosives on each end of the doors. The doors were blown off and the group dashed inside.

Jupiter winced at the sound but knew that stealth was not their goal. Being silent was useless. They _wanted_ to be heard. The point was to take out the powerful dark alliance members and get a chance at defeating the leaders before the day was out. There was no option to prolong the battle because of Crystal Tokyo and Ami's condition.

"Hold it!"

Cole, the general whom had kept an eye on Minako, appeared in their path. "We're not making this so easy for you."

The room went black even though it was early in the day, their screams torn from their mouths as the floor dropped beneath their feet like the last time they had entered the building.

Mars smirked, getting to her feet in the dark and wondering which part of the bulding she had been displaced to and who was with her. The group had been prepared for this trickery because of the last time, and Mars wondered whom had fallen with her. She was sure an agent would try and attack soon and she had to be ready to kill them.

"Mars." She spun around to see Uranus getting to her feet as well as Trowa.

"I think we got knocked into the basement, we'd better try and get upstairs," Trowa said immediatly, surveying the large room criticially.

"You're not going anywhere," General Anthony's low voice seethed. Mars felt goosebumps on her arms all of a sudden and brushed them off as a sign of her own weaknesses, suddenly wishing Duo was with them and not knowing why such a stupid thought was crossing her mind.

"Agreed," the dry voice of another agent spoke, them turning their attention to another general and the youma next to him.

Uranus glowered at the general, knowing it was the agent who had been watching over her during her captivity. "Daniel. What is your stupid ass trying to do? Let's finish these idiots," she seethed, ignoring the laughter of the three before her.

"Still feisty I see," the general she had referred to as Daniel said. "I like that."

"You're not really my type," Uranus replied confidently, not hesitating to attack. "World Shaking!"

The youma next to Daniel was destroyed with a scream, the two general's raising their brows.

"Impressive. What about you Mars? Anything to add?"

Mars wasn't paying attention to him, already having summoned her attack. "Mars firebird!"

Trowa gasped, taking a step back as a large bird of flames swooped around the basement, engulfing the two generals, who cursed and shouted. Shaking from his stupor, he saw his opportunity, raising his gun and beginning to fire. The screams of the two generals increased, the trio taking off towards the exit.

The other doors of the room blew open, five more youma charging and attacking. The three collapsed to the floor by the exit with screams as they were engulfed in a black webbing which crackled with electricity. Trowa tried to untangle himself from the strange web, unable to and only aiding in electrocuting himself further as he released it and crumpled to the ground.

"Barton! Shit," Uranus cursed, looking up at the bleeding and burned generals. "Stop it!"

Anthony crocuhed next to Mars, frowning at her. "That hurt you little bitch." He grabbed her by the face and shook it slightly. "Wait until my leaders are done with you and see what I'm gonna do to you."

He looked at the five youma. "Get them up and get them upstairs, now."

* * *

"That was quite a fall we took," Quatre admitted, trying to remain positive as he helped Neptune to her feet. Tuxedo Kamen and Pluto were already up, looking around the tiny corridor they had been thrown into a bit helplessly.

"I don't even see an exit. It could be a trick," Pluto said solemnly, looking around. The sound of laughter reached their ears, the quad spinning around and searching for the source.

Two men Quatre didn't recognize stood in front of them now, a youma behind them and snarling.

Pluto and Neptune stiffened however, recognizing them as the agents whom had kept a closer eye on them.

"Lucas, David," Tuxedo Kamen acknowledged, shaking his head. The two turned to look at him.

"It's the traitor," the one called Lucas said, stepping forwards. "What shall we do with him David?"

"He's expendable. In face we'd be doing our leaders a favor if we killed him and the other guy. However-" David stopped speaking, turning to look at the youma. "The senshi are to be incapacitated and not killed, understand? Our leader wants to see them."

"Right," the youma said, the three turning to look at the quad in front of them.

Neptune glanced around the crowded hallway, knowing that no battle would be won in the hallway. There was barely room for two people to stand side by side. Any attack she or Pluto fired would likely hurt or kill everyone in the cramped space.

One look at Pluto's eyes told her she was thinking the same thing.

"What about a compromise," Neptune spoke, gaining their attention. "This hallway is way too tiny to fight. One attack by me or Pluto or even your youma willl hurt us all. You don't harm Mr. Winner and Tuxedo Kamen, and the four of us will come willingly to see your leader."

The two generals paused, staring at each other and back at the four tense individuals in front of them. It was true- the magic had dumped the four in an inconvenient spot- and this was a much easier solution to getting them in front of their leader.

"Fine," Lucas said. "However you are wearing handcuffs and coming willingly. Trust me- when you see your friends chained up and injured you'll be happy you didn't put up a fight."

'For now,' Pluto thought, although she nodded at the agents. Quatre glanced at Tuxedo Mask. They were lucky. Part of the plan was getting upstairs to the leader, whether they were dragged up there and injured or found the way themselves. They had predicted before arriving that things could go horribly wrong and that they would wind up somehow tied up in front of the leaders. However the advantage to this solution was that they would not be injured. Perhaps their other friends would be- this way they would be strong enough to fight later in the day when the others could not. Part of Quatre was worried as they headed up with the generals to see the leader but he really wasn't. The vast amount of preventers troops were completely dominating the employees and other buildings. It was only a matter of time before they made it up to the top.

* * *

Heero got to his feet grouchilly, surveying the rows of empty beds in the room they had been thrown in. Jupiter and Saturn stood a step behind him, Jupiter speaking.

"Heero, the door is right there!"

"That it is, but you won't be allowed to get at it," Dominic said, crouched on the cot behind her. Jupiter jumped, Saturn screaming as the hands of another general who she was familiar with from her captivity wrapped around her waist.

"Cameran, hands off of her," Jupieter spat, ignoring Dominic as the other general touched the younger girl.

Heero spun around, instead coming face to face with a youma. The youma smiled, Heero glowering as he raised his gun and fired at it about six times before it raised its hands and blasted him with some sort of an ice attack. He wasn't sure what had happened but he was on the floor and shaking next to the cot, feeling like he had been thrown in an ice covered lake.

"Heero!" Saturn gasped, the general holding onto her smirking.

"That's it. Jupiter thunder dragon!" The room was torn apart by Jupiter's attack, Saturn ducking to the floor next to Heero to avoid it as the youma Heero had shot screamed in agony before becoming dust. Dominic and Cameran tried to dodge and were unable, getting hit and becoming furious.

"Damnit! Control your girl Dominic!" Cameran seethed, Dominic nodding and raising his hands. He formed a large red ball of energy in front of him. Jupiter frowned, taking a step back, and dodging swiftly as he threw it at her. Getting to her feet, she gasped as it bounced off the wall and gained speed, hitting her squarely in the stomach.

Saturn gasped as Jupiter screamed, rushing to her side and shaking at how much blood there was from the one hit. Cameran approached and grabbed her by her hair, pulling her struggling form away from Jupiter and using his superior strength to stop her struggles almost completely.

"You're all coming with us and you're not causing any more trouble," he said succinctly, Saturn glancing down at where Heero was gasping for breath and nodding.

* * *

Venus offered Wufei a hand up, smirking as he ignored it and stood himself. Wufei looked around what appeared to be a training gym, speaking.

"Are we alone in here?"

"It's never that simple," general Cole's voice said smugly, the two spinning around to see Cole standing next to Ryder, who held his hands over the mouth of a struggling Sailor Moon.

"Ryder go. Get her up there first," Cole said, Ryder nodding. He and Sailor Moon dissapeared before Venus could blink. She screamed, rushing forewards.

"Where is she?"

Cole stared at her critically, only about five feet between him and Venus.

"You're going too, don't worry. I don't suppose you'll come peacefully?"

"Not a chance!" Venus wasted no more time. "Venus love and beauty shock!"

Wufei smirked at the name of the attack, the smirk dissapearing as he watched it crash into Cole head on and leave the man's body shaking on the floor.

However Cole was up in a flash, a fierce wind taking over the room as he floated above them. "You're really going to regret that."

The room began to crackle with energy, the two on their knees and gasping as the air grew thick.

"What's going on?" Wufei questioned, not used to this sort of fighting.

"Oh my God, I...I c-can't breath," Venus suddenly admitted, grabbing her chest as she was no longer able to speak. Wufei felt the same sensation, unable to speak as everything went black.

* * *

Ami shifted on the couch, unable to sleep or even relax without knowing how her friends were.

How long had she been laying down? She took a peek at the clock, frowning. An hour and a half had gone by. She hadn't expected them to be fast plus the drive was an hour, but she was still so tense.

The bad feeling returned and she had the sudden urge to vomit. Rushing to her feet, she ran into the bathroom, only succeeding in coughing up a bunch of blood into the sink.

Eyes watering, she rinsed out her mouth and cleaned the sink, hands grasping the edges of the counter weakly. She had to get a hold of herself and relax before this attack got out of control.

Glancing back into the mirror, she screamed as she met a pair of cold brown eyes. The beautiful woman from the elevator was quick to silence her, throwing her hands around Ami's mouth.

"Shut up!" She seethed, "Do you know how much trouble I had to go through to get this room key?"

Ami elbowed the woman's exposed stomach hard, watching as she doubled over with a cry and dashing out of the bathroom.

The gun- where was the gun Heero had given her? Spotting it on the table, Ami grabbed it, screaming as someone tackled her to the floor from behind her. She crashed into the side table by the couch, her attacker pinning her down. The gun clattered uselessly to the floor a few feet away. Ami saw a pair of delicate hands pick the gun up.

She craned her neck, seeing the woman from the elevator now holding the gun. Who was holding her down? She turned, spotting some short brown hair. The man that had been arguing with her.

"That's a good job you two," a voice that she unfortunately recognized spoke.

"Kaden," she muttered tiredly, trying to see where he was standing.

"You two really are excellent, the only two spies to generate results. Perfect timing," he continued.

"Thank you general," the woman spoke, keeping the gun trained on Ami as the man hoisted her off the floor and she met Kaden's displeased face.

"You have been so much trouble. Most definitely more than you are worth. I will enjoy watching the life leave your eyes when this is all over." He turned to the others. "Search her, does she have her wand?"

The man complied, his hands rougly groping Ami's form. "No sir." Ami tried to pull free, weakened by her attack and unable to.

"Where is it?" Kaden asked her.

She didn't reply, the woman approaching her and also pulling off her communicator.

Kaden stalked into the bedroom of the suite, emerging victorious moments later. Ami sighed. Of course he had found it- it had been right at her bedside.

"In the short forty minutes since your friends and the Preventers arrived they've caused quite a ruckus- the preventers are taking out all of our civilian troops and arresting them," Kaden said. "However we won't be allowing any preventers personnel to get to see our leaders. You however have received the honor. Shall we?"

He approached where the workers were holding her, generating a gaping black portal right next to them. "Move."

* * *

I'll have the next chap up soon and hopefully something for Blackout, I'm slowly woking on the epilogue.


	13. Part 13

_Last time:_

"You have been so much trouble. Most definitely more than you are worth. I will enjoy watching the life leave your eyes when this is all over." He turned to the others. "Search her, does she have her wand?"

The man complied, his hands rougly groping Ami's form. "No sir." Ami tried to pull free, weakened by her attack and unable to.

"Where is it?" Kaden asked her.

She didn't reply, the woman approaching her and also pulling off her communicator.

Kaden stalked into the bedroom of the suite, emerging victorious moments later. Ami sighed. Of course he had found it- it had been right at her bedside.

"In the short forty minutes since your friends and the Preventers arrived they've caused quite a ruckus- the preventers are taking out all of our civilian troops and arresting them," Kaden said. "However we won't be allowing any preventers personnel to get to see our leaders. You however have received the honor. Shall we?"

He approached where the workers were holding her, generating a gaping black portal right next to them. "Move."

Part 13

"Take it easy," Ami shouted as she was thrown on the floor out of the portal harshly. Kaden smirked, looking around the room and waiting for Ami to notice where she was.

Ami wiped some blood from the side of her mouth, getting to her knees shakilly and watching as the two agents who had grabbed her backed next to a large group of youma behind a red rope on he other side of the room. The room was huge. Ami tried to get her bearings. Where exactly had she been thrown?

"What?" She muttered confusedly, turning her head and gasping as she met the stunned eyes of all of her friends. The eyes of her chained up friends. They stared back at her, wide eyed and in a shocked silence. Her eyes flew to Heero's furious eyes. He didn't look too good, seemingly having been attacked, but was focused on her being there.

Heero couldn't even find his voice, pissed beyond belief. All he had wanted to do was keep her safe, and the bastard Kaden had somehow still got her here. He would kill him today even if it was the end of him.

"A-Ami! What the hell?" Mars was first to break the silence, suddenly furious. From next to Ami, Kaden laughed.

"What? Did you really think you could keep her from us? You should have just brought her with you- it would have spared us the trouble of having to find her."

"How the hell did you know where she was?" Jupiter demanded, heated now.

"You Senshi still don't get it," Ryder said, stepping out of the dark area opposite of the youma, where he was still clutching Sailor Moon. From behind him, the remaining generals appeared, including five other generals that they had not seen before. "Our network of spies and informants is highly extensive. None of you would have been safe anywhere for much longer."

"Well then, where are the leaders you insisted on us seeing?" Uranus snapped.

"He's right here. He's just watching- observing," general Anthony said, smirking.

"What's there to observe? He wants us and here we are," Wufei said, not pleased at being chained up.

Ryder, as if to answer him, released Sailor Moon. She rushed to Ami's side, the two on their knees on the cold floor and sitting about ten feet from where their friends were chained behind them. Kaden tossed Ami's transformation wand around in his hands as though it was the most interesting toy he had ever seen.

Silence pervaded the room, the senshi and pilots exchanging glances. They had waited all of this time to see the leader- and the leader was just waiting it out.

Ami glanced around the darkened room, trying to see where someone could be hiding. The youma on the right and the generals on her left laughed at her actions, confusing her further.

The sound of more laughter reached her ears, except that this was low and felt strangely close.

A dark shadow crossed before her eyes momentarilly, and Sailor Moon must have seen it too because she clutched Ami tightly, suddenly afraid.

"Sailor Moon, what's going on?" she asked, frightened and more confused as she had just arrived. Sailor Moon's arms tightened slightly more around her waist. Was something else scaring Sailor Moon more? Ami turned her face to look at Sailor Moon's, a gasp catching in her throat as she saw Sailor Moon's huge grin and bloodshot eyes. She was screaming loudly half a second later and disentangling herself from her friend's arms, dragging herself backwards but crashing into Kaden's legs. Kaden laughed but did not move, not allowing Ami to back up any further.

"What?" Heero asked, the others sitting up and trying to see what the hell had happened.

Sailor Moon chuckled, rising from the ground in an almost eerie way as she looked down at Ami, grin still intact.

"Ami dear, that was mean." It was a frightening blend of Usagi's voice and that of a man, low and almost demonic. The generals were smiling broadly, the rowdy youma being kept quiet by the two spies on the other end of the room. Tuxedo Mask stared at Sailor Moon in shock, a million thought rushing through his head as he tried to keep up with what was happening.

"I guess I should explain," the psuedo Sailor Moon continued, laughing. "I am the leader of the Dark Alliance. I am the source of all of the power behind every member here. Unfortunately my physical form was taken from me during a battle many years ago. My powers lived on, my soul preserved through them as I came to this dimension to try and dominate here. This dimensions politics were unstable and I knew I could cause a ruckus fast here. I built a team and an empire with this rouse of the security agency- but I knew not everything would continue so smoothly. You senshi still existed in perfection in the other dimension despite many beings and powers greater than yours trying to ruin you. I knew that if I let you be, you would eventually destroy us, especially when you'd sorted your business in Crystal Tokyo.

"So I had to act fast. I needed to capture you all, and furthermore I needed to find a way to completely steal your powers. I was planning on killing you- but it seemed like such a waste to lose all of your magnificent powers. Take, for example, your friend Sailor Moon here. We tried everything to get her silver crystal to respond to us and it never worked. Perhaps I should just try taking over each of your bodies and using your powers that way," it mused, turning its attention to the still frightened Ami. "That is- everyone but you. I don't want to be in any pain and if I go inside of you I will be. Your circumstance is quite interesting. I didn't know about it before we captured your prince; he was very useful to us."

The pilots stared at Sailor Moon in shock. They had seen so much over the last few weeks and yet seeing that the leader of such a huge empire was nothing more than a spirit fueling the workers with power was almost too much. They needed to see a physical form- something solid that they could kill.

Heero shuddered as the being inside Sailor Moon turned its attention to Ami. All he had wanted to do was protect her. That was why he had left her behind. It had all been a waste. He turned his attention to Ami, who was still trying to slide away from Sailor Moon, but she was having trouble.

Another attack no doubt.

Her body was trembling and she was having more trouble sitting up, leaning against Kaden's legs involuntarilly. Kaden still did not move and Heero's blood boiled.

"You're having an attack right now, aren't you?" The odd mix of Sailor Moon and the man's voice asked her. "This is just thrilling. Your powers will have to be put to use. What can I have you freeze? This dimension? The next? I wonder- can you control it or will it just be time?"

Ami felt her head hit the floor, unable to move anymore.

"The release of your powers is near; I can feel it. As we are, thanks to you foolish pilots, in a base surrounded by preventers, maybe we should see if we can induce those powers now and get rid of them."

It turned to Kaden. "Keep that wand away from her. I don't want her to use it. I want her to give us a sample of the earth freezing powers if we can ger her to."

"How will we get her to?" Another general asked. The being within Sailor Moon smirked, and it looked oddly synical on her soft face.

"The day for her to freeze the earth is upon us and it will happen the moment she is too weak to control it. Weaken her."

It suddenly left Sailor Moon's body, a black mist rising into the air and slowly dissapearing although its voice was still loud and clear, echoeing off the walls. "Attack Sailor Moon."

The workers glanced at each other. It was a win-win for their leader. Either Sailor Moon willingly gave up the crystal or Mercury tried to protect her and resorted to showing off the powers. Their leader was a step ahead as usual.

The others chained up behind them had already set to work on trying to break free of the chains, the leaders words ringing through their ears. They had thought this would be difficult but hadn't expected any of these twists in the plan before entering the base.

Sailor Moon shook her head, trying to sit up but unable to. She felt completely drained from that creature being inside of her. Had he stolen some of her energy? She could barely keep her head up. It was the oddest and most disgusting experience and she prayed she would never have to repeat it.

"Sorry Ami," she offered, knowing the girl had been frightened.

"Don't apologize," Ami muttered, trying to sit up and bear through her attack. She had to be strong. Everyone was chained up and he had just given a very exact command about attacking her leader.

"I'll go first," Ryder said, stepping forwards. "Sorry about this my princess, it'll only hurt a little while. Oh- and the effects of my leader being inside you will probably wear off but not for another hour or so. He feeds off your life energy while he is within you if you were wondering. You'll get used to it eventually."

Sailor Moon shuddered at the thought, trying to keep her eyes open and watch Ryder.

A black ball of energy formed around his hand and he chucked it at where Sailor Moon laid. Tuxedo Mask yelled loudest of all, nearly breaking the chain holding his left hand but still unable to free himself.

The others behind them also looked up, screams and shouts ringing through the air. A new scream followed but it was Sailor Moon's. "Ami no!"

Heero's blood ran cold, watching as Ami collapsed on top of Sailor Moon. She had somehow managed to get to her feet and had taken the hit on her back.

Ami attempted to sit up now, still conscious as Sailor Moon helped her as much as she could move. "Ami! Ami, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Ami responded, trying to get her bearings as she leaned back and sat in front of Sailor Moon tiredly, facing her.

"Ami why did you do that?" Sailor Moon asked, again trying to sit up but failing, her head hitting the floor. "Oh my God, we're in trouble. What did he do to me?"

"Relax Usa," Ami said, trying to keep her voice from wavering. Kaden watched Ami critically from where he stood by the pair.

Heero relaxed slightly when he saw that Ami was somewhat okay, but tensed up as he watched Kaden and the others. They definitely weren't done. What were they trying to do? Kill Ami? Weaken her body so much that she couldn't control her powers and released the ice on this planet? Weaken Sailor Moon to the point of submitting the crystal willingly? Or were all of these things just a rouse for the bigger picture- the fact that the Dark Alliance leader simply enjoyed watching people suffer? At this he turned back to his chains with more urgency.

Tuxedo Kamen, in his fear for Sailor Moon, had seriously damaged the chain holding his left hand. He was now tugging frantically on the weakened chain to try and break it first.

Wufei and Pluto, from behind him, followed his lead and put all of their energy into trying to break the chain on only one of their hands first. Heero followed suit, watching as the other senshi and pilots caught on.

"My turn," Kaden said, raising his hand and forming an attack similar to Ryder's. He chucked it at Sailor Moon with a blank look on his face, unsurprised as Ami moved again and took the hit, this time in her right shoulder.

Sailor Moon screamed again. "Ami stop!" Her heart was thundering in her chest and she could barely form the words let alone breath properly. The situation was out of control.

"Now it's mine," General Anthony said. "No I'll go," Cole and Lucas said together, three more attacks racing towards the two.

Sailor Moon screamed louder this time as Ami blocked her body with her own, beginning to sob. Ami weakly tried to sit up, covered in blood.

"Ami stop, please stop," Sailor Moon begged, unable to stop her crying.

Heero, who had broken his left chain much like the others, had set to work on his right chain. He was panicked, yelling at the senshi.

"What is she doing? Tell her to stop!"

The senshi shook their heads, tears streaming down their faces as they furiously tried to break their remaining chains.

"We can't Heero, just focus on freeing yourself," Venus said, Neptune nodding. His jaw dropped.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"It's her duty," Mars explained, finally breaking the chain on her right wrist and moving to break the chain on her left.

"It's all of our duty," Venus clarified as she broke her chain too. "We owe our allegiance to our princess. We would have all done the same."

Heero furiously broke the final chain on his right hand, hearing a few of the other senshi's chains breaking as well. Ami's mentality about her own life sounded a lot like his old view of his life and he couldn't allow this to happen.

From behind him, most of the Senshi were free except for Saturn. Wufei and Pluto were bent next to her, helping her break free. The sounds of the senshi attacking the generals reached his ears and he was momentarilly blinded as the attacks flew past him, stopping the generals in their assault. The furious shout of the leader broke through the sound as the youma were released from where they had been held on the right, the room becoming madness instantly.

Screams tore through the air, the battle vicious. Heero dodged senshi's attacks, youma attacks, and generals, having no time to wonder how his friends were doing and racing towards Ami. Tuxedo Kamen was at his side, obviously running for Sailor Moon.

He spotted her unmoving form on the floor, none other than Kaden crouched next to her. Tuxedo Mask, nearly at Sailor Moon, gasped as he was tackled by Ryder.

The two fumbled around on the floor, Tuxedo Kamen freeing himself and then immediately throwing himself to the side as Ryder's attack narrowly missed him.

"Watch out!" Sailor Moon shouted, trying her best to crawl from the spot she lay but unable.

"Hey!" Kaden looked up as Heero's precisely aimed kick connected with his face, knocking him away from Ami.

He fell to his knees, turning her over and gasping at how much blood she was covered in. How many times had she been hit? Her eyes were open, glazed over and watching him weakly.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, her mouth filled with blood. "I didn't see them until they were in the room surrounding me."

"Don't apologize," he replied furiously, dodging as a scream from Ami reminded him that he still had Kaden to worry about. Remembering he had an extra strapped to his leg beneath his pants, he reached down and pulled it out, holding it towards Kaden.

Kaden didn't hesitate to move, the bullets missing him as his fist connected with Heero's face for the second time that month, knocking him away. The gun clattered to the floor amongst the madness of everyone else's fights, Heero trying to get to his feet quickly but still reeling from the hit. He had forgotten how otherwordly Kaden's strength was.

Kaden knew what Heero wanted and how to get to him, bending down and picking Ami's nearly unconscious form off the ground.

"Let's really piss off your boyfriend over there," Kaden mused.

"N-no," Ami muttered, shifting and trying to grab at her transformation wand in Kaden's hand. He wouldn't let it budge, shaking her slightly and watching as she stopped trying to grab it. It was too easy. She was so sick and wounded that it was like he was dealing with an infant.

Heero tried to look on the floor for his gun, rolling out of the way of a youma's attack and nearly being burned alive as he stood and then ducked once more. He rolled to the ground, spotting Duo and Mars a few feet away but not lingering on it as the masses of fighters shifted and he saw Kaden holding Ami. He had to focus. The gun!

A moment later he rushed towards the pair, Kaden spinning around to face his haggard form.

"Yes? Did you find your gun? Do you even remotely have a way to fight me right now? You can't beat me. I'm stronger, faster, and I'm not easy to kill. Surrender yourself and I will make your death quick."

Heero's blood was boiling, never having been more angry than he had become in the last twenty minutes. This was ridiculous. This was beyond ridiculous. The asshole just wouldn't die. He thought back to all of the times he had beat him- the countless bullets he had put in Kaden...and yet here he was.

He needed...he needed help. Damnit. Where were the preventer's troops? Surely they had taken over everywhere else by now- why not this floor?

* * *

"Mars watch out!" Duo called, tackling her to the floor as two youma attacks connected where she had stood.

"Thanks," she said, out of breath from the fighting already.

"No time for chit chat," Anthony's voice interrupted, the two on their feet in less than a second as the floor burned beneath them.

From where Venus and Quatre fought, Venus tried to see her friends. There were so many youma in the room that spotting her friends was tough.

She destroyed the youma in front of her, dodging an attack from another and nodding as Quatre shot it a few times. Cole was in her face a moment later, backhanding her and knocking her to the ground.

"You still have me to worry about Venus, don't forget!"

Jupiter could see the outers and Wufei fighting four generals and several youma but could do nothing to help as she and Trowa were in a bind of their own. The general before her, Dominic, had Trowa pinned down by three youma and was currently threatening him.

"I'll release him but you must come now, or else he dies."

"Come now and leave your leader?" She questioned, raising a brow.

"My leader will survive this day after this base falls, if it falls," Dominic replied.

Jupiter raised a brow. What did he mean by that?

"Haven't we told you Senshi a million times?" Dominic asked with a laugh. "Our network is hugely extensive. We have more employees than you would like to count. Not at this base, no, but on their own and waiting for commands. Even if your preventers kill everyone inside this base, they won't be able to kill our master and he will gather his other workers and start again."

* * *

Kaden wasn't moving, just staring at Heero. The sounds of the battle raged around the three but all Heero heard was silence. Why had Kaden stopped gloating? Why wasn't he attacking him?

A black shadow shrouded Heero's vision a moment, and he stumbled back a step, feeling a pressure in his head and chest. "What?"

Ami focused her energy, trying to stay conscious despite the agonizing pain from her attacks and injuries. Kaden, carrying her, walked forwards and silently offered her to Heero.

Her eyes widened. Why was he letting Heero take her? A trick of some sort?

She was deposited quickly into Heero's outstretched arms, Kaden's face blank and not giving away what he was doing. Heero's face was emotionless as he stared at Kaden, and Ami turned her attention from his face to how he was holding her. She was in his arms, but he wasn't holding her close to himself. He was holding her away like she was a complete stranger or unfamiliar toy, and he was soon glancing down at her oddly.

Unless...no- it couldn't be. Kaden had taken a couple of steps away, still watching as Heero began to speak. Only it wasn't just Heero's voice. It was a blend of his and that evil spirit, the leader.

"Why haven't you shown me your powers? Did we not inflict enough harm? Are you really that durable?"

Ami felt herself completely lose hope in that moment.

"I can't," she replied. "I can't control it- please leave him alone."

"Leave him alone?" He responded, raising a brow. Ami felt so odd, staring at the face of someone she cared so much about and fearing him so much at the same time. "So you care about this pilot? Well I hate to break it to you, but as a normal human he won't survive very long with me in his body. I'm draining his life energy by being inside of him. Perhaps I should just keep his body."

"No," she begged. "No, please leave him. Leave him and I will go with you, wherever you're going to run and start a new base. I'll go now."

"Ah, you want me to flee and fight another day? You think I've given up because your preventer's have taken over. No! You are going to freeze this city and kill them all and you are going to do it now! You're in my control now. Do it."

She shook her head. "I can't. I don't know how."

"Maybe if she's transformed?" Kaden offered, and the leader shook Heero's head. "No fool, keep that wand away from her." He turned his attention to Ami, releasing her from his arms and watching emotionlessly as she hit the hard floor.

"Do it. Show me some of your power." She didn't move, and he stepped on her blood covered back. "Now!"

She groaned, shifting but not moving. The leader smirked, speaking. "You have to make it so damn difficult, don't you?"

He kicked her in the stomach, blood filling her mouth, and continued to do so. A good kick accross her forehead had her head spinning. Reaching down, he picked her up off the ground by her t-shirt and held her up at eye level.

"Ready yet?"

She could only shake her head, gasping as he threw her to the floor. "Do it now! Or I will drain the life out of him!" He crouched down next to her, bringing his lips to her ear.

"Tell me Mercury, are you in love with this pilot?"

Her eyes widened at the question, Kaden's head perking with interest as he took a couple of steps closer. She tried to sit up, but the leader pushed her back down, her head hitting the floor and her back killing her.

"You see while inside of him, I know all of his thoughts. There hasn't been a thought that has crossed his mind in the last month that hasn't revolved around you. He is... completely in love with you. I wonder, do you feel the same or is he just convenient for you?"

Ami's eyes began to sting and she blinked back her tears. Unbelievable.

"Answer me, do you love him?" The leader prodded, Ami knowing the answer immediately. It was what she hadn't even been able to admit to herself yet.

"Yes." Kaden crouched down at her other side, leaning forwards slightly to hear her.

"Are you using the term lightly?" Kaden asked. "You couldn't love him if you're letting us just kill him like this."

The leader looked at Kaden with appreciation. Kaden was his best man. He always knew what tactic he was going for.

"I do, more than anything," Ami responded earnestly. "Please leave him alone."

"That's not enough; I asked you to use those powers. Can you really be that selfish? Even after the man did all of this for you?" The leader asked, Ami having made the mistake of looking at him and catching the blue eyes of Heero as he spoke.

She tried to stop her tears, unsuccessfully this time. "I can't. Please. I'm begging you."

"Ungrateful girl. I don't even like the guy and I think you're selfish," Kaden added. "You're just a terrible human being. You're using him."

She continued to cry, shaking her head. "Please."

The leader smirked, beginning to speak and gasping. "He's- he's fighting me off. Unbelievable; no one's ever done that."

He suddenly fell back, Heero's body limp as the black shadow floated out of his body and above them, before dissapearing, likely somewhere else in the room.

"L-leader?" Kaden called.

"Kaden."

Kaden look down at Heero's voice, screaming murderously as Heero fired three shots at his face.

Kaden fell back away from the pair, screaming in agony.

Heero kept his gun trained on him, although he was too weak to actually get off the floor from the leader of the Dark Alliance inhabiting his body.

"Remember when you asked me earlier if I found my gun? I found it," he said stoically, shooting four more rounds at Kaden. He wondered if Kaden would try to escape, but to where? Kaden always came here.

Heero crawled over to the agonized man, as quickly as he could manage, taking Ami's wand from his hand and sliding it backwards towards where she laid. Ami grabbed a hold of it, trying to sit up.

"I have to transform." Blood filled her mouth as she tried to talk and she turned away, spitting it on the floor.

"No, relax," Heero said, his gun trained on Kaden. Kaden was not moving, groaning in pain.

"You can hurt him as much as you'd like with that gun, we both know it won't kill him," Ami replied, weakly raising her hand in the air.

"Mercury Crystal Power."

The light momentarilly blinded him, and soon Mercury as on her knees and ushering for him to move away from Kaden. He did so, gun still trained on him.

Mercury stood all the way, back hunched but somehow on her feet.

"Take it easy, how are you standing?"

"I'm stronger in this form," she assured him, "let me kill this bastard."

Heero nodded, more than happy to let her do so.

"Mercury ice storm!"

The attack enveloped Kaden's body, causing him to scream again, before encasing him in a thick layer of ice.

"Will that do?" Heero asked quizically, frowning at the ice statue of Kaden.

"That's my strongest attack," Mercury replied, collapsing to the ground but pointing at Kaden's form. "Look."

The ice was crumbling to tiny pieces and dissapearing- as was Kaden's body.

Heero relaxed only for a moment, crawling towards Ami but gasping. Her transformation was faded in the blink of an eye, returning her to her bloodied clothes. Her body was trembling more than usual, and she was unresponsive. What set him off most was her eyes, normally a deep blue, now a pale icy color.

He wanted to call for help, knowing that the room was much quieter as the Senshi had killed most of the youma and likely all the generals. he looked around. It was true. The generals were dead, and only a handful of youma remained.

The leader's voice, although he was unseen, echoed off the walls of the room.

"Yes! Time for the freeze!"

The room shook, Heero gasping as he realized Ami was causing it, her body beginning to glow a pale blue color. It wasn't a second before Sailor Pluto dove next to him, scooping Ami up off the ground and waving her time staff. A black portal opened up, Pluto moving through it and it closing behind her with a flash.

Heero, on the floor and mouth agape, turned to stare at any nearby senshi for answers. The whole ordeal had taken only about three seconds.

"No! No! No! No! No!" The leader's furious voice bounced off the walls, any remaining youma cringing and falling to their knees. "She's wasting the powers and freezing the other dimension!"

"You'll have to forget about that and deal with us!" Uranus shouted up at the ceiling, the group looking around for the spirit.

"I won't have to do anything! Do you think my base is my only source of power and workers? I will gather my remaining subjects on this planet and build a bigger network and base! You shall see!"

A huge gust of wind tore through the room, knocking anyone who was standing to the floor. Then the wind stopped, and the senshi and pilots looked around in confusion. The room felt lighter, and the few still alive youma had been taken away wherever the leader had gone to.

"God damnit! That monster is still lurking in this dimension!" Uranus shouted furiously, Wufei sharing her sentiments with a lot of cussing. Neptune approached with Saturn, Venus and Quatre at her heels.

Duo rushed towards Heero, yelling as Heero's hand shot out and grabbed his ankle, knocking him to the floor.

"Heero buddy, take it easy!"

"Where did Pluto take Ami?"

Mars rushed over, helping Duo up.

"To our world. To freeze the earth."

"I don't know what's going on," Sailor Moon offered as Tuxedo Kamen carried her over. "We're supposed to be frozen with our planet too, and we're all here...and that monster got away."

"This is crazy," Jupiter said, glancing at Trowa. "How long does it take to freeze a planet?"

The bizarre question caught everyone off guard, silence pervading over the group. The sounds of shouting interrupted as the preventers troops broke down the door at the opposite end of the room, Quatre approaching them and speaking. "The leader got away!"

Heero stared up at the ceiling, hoping his stremgth returned soon. Where was Ami? He needed her to be okay. The thought of her freezing an entire planet sickened him.

* * *

Ami blinked back her tears, looking up at Sailor Pluto. Her body was glowing a pale blue color, and Pluto stood next to where she laid on the grassy hilltop, slowly beginning to freeze over like the rest of the planet.

"It hurts."

Pluto also bit back her sobs. "I know. It's because you accumulated the power too fast and you're injured too badly. I- I don't know if-" Pluto stopped herself, watching as the raw power left Ami's hands. She couldn't bring herself to tell Ami what she feared the most. Ami's body wouldn't survive this.

* * *

The group was in a five star suite in Garderville, awaiting the return of Pluto. It had been an hour and a half here but it felt like much longer. Heero had reserved his own room, needing to be away from everyone else.

On top of the dissapointment of the Dark Alliance leader escaping, he was in a frenzy about Ami. He didn't want anyone seeing him like this. Would she be back soon? Time ran differently in her dimension- faster.

Heero sank into a chair, putting his head in his hands. He had to stop thinking- he was going to drive himself mad...

"Not very sharp for the perfect soldier."

He jumped, seeing Pluto standing before him. She looked tired and her eyes were bloodshot. His eyes moved from her face to the bloodied woman she was carrying.

"Ami!"

She passed the unconscious woman to him, speaking.

"She's alive...but just barely. Her wounds have been quickly patched but...her body is so weak. Her heart rate is...slow. I-I don't know what more can be done for her or how long she'll hold on."

Pluto detransformed, turning and stalking out of the room. "I must go up to the other floor and talk with the others. We have too many situations on our hands."

Heero was rarely empathetic but he felt for her. The world of the senshi was frozen, and they were supposed to be with it to create their kngdom. The enemy had escaped, hundreds of Garderville security agents in custody but none of them talking. Worst of all was Ami.

Ami. Nothing else in particular mattered to him.

He sat on the corner of the bed, staring down at her unmoving form. His eyes hardened. She would be fine. He loved her and she would be fine. He knew so because any woman that could love a man like him had to be strong enought to survive this. He laid her on the bed, covering her with the blankets, and laid next to her. He laced his hand through hers, staring up at the ceiling of the room and exhaling slowly. She would be fine.

* * *

epilogue coming


End file.
